Thursday, November 20, 2003

Valparaiso University placed four student-athletes on the Mid-Continent Conference First Team, while Cyndi Norman (Minooka, Ill./Minooka H.S.), Sara Silcox (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City H.S.), and head coach Carin Avery all earned top individual awards at the league's annual banquet held on Thursday evening.

Lauren Moulton (Elgin, Ill./Larkin H.S.) and Liz Mikos (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs H.S.) both were named to the Mid-Con First Team alongside Norman and Silcox.

Norman, the Mid-Con Setter of the Year, is a three-time First Team All Mid-Con selection. She currently ranks second in school history and third in conference history with 4,776 career assists. This season she has averaged 11.94 assists per game, ranking second in the league. Her 1,289 total helpers are the third most in Valpo's single season history. She has also hit .283 on the year and averaged 2.65 digs per game.

Silcox earned Libero of the Year honors after leading the Crusaders defensively. Her 4.65 digs per game rank her 18th in the nation and second in the Mid-Con. She is second on Valpo's single season chart with 502 total digs. For her career, Silcox has 1,244 digs, and with 28 more would move into the top-five all-time at Valpo along with setting a new single season mark.

Moulton has been a key component of the Crusader line-up both offensively and defensively. Her .295 hitting percentage ranks third in the conference and her 2.99 kills per game are second on the team. She also ranks fifth in the Mid-Con in blocks with 0.99 per game. Her 114 total blocks currently tie her for sixth on Valpo's single season charts.

Mikos leads the nation in blocks per game with 1.80. She set new school records this season with 180 total blocks and 44 solo rejections. She has hit .292 offensively for the Brown and Gold ranking fourth in the Mid-Con, while also averaging 2.63 kills per contest.

Avery was named the 2003 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year after guiding Valparaiso to a 25-7 record overall and a 13-1 mark in the Mid-Con. The Crusaders claimed their first regular season conference title and are just one victory shy of a school single season record. Valpo will serve as the number one seed in this weekend's conference tournament.