Draeger Named Honorable Mention All-American By AVCA
Dec. 1, 2003
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) officially announced the 23rd annual AVCA All-America teams for Division III women's volleyball. Lakeland senior Monica Draeger was chosen to the Honorable Mention Team and is the first Muskie volleyball player ever selected for an All-American Team based on playing ability only. The Muskies have had two Academic All-Americans in Kim Wooster (Third Team pick last year) and Melissa Braaksma (Second Team last year). Braaksma expects to find out in just a few days if she made the team for a second straight year.

Draeger was one of nearly 100 players selected to a team from throughout all of Division III volleyball. There are 12 members on the First, Second and Third All-American Teams, while there were 65 players chosen for the Honorable Mention Team.

Draeger, who was also named the Lake Michigan Conference Player of the Year, led the Muskies to a 21-16 overall record against one of the toughest schedules in the nation. She guided Lakeland to a 12-0 mark in conference, their third straight conference title, and second straight NCAA bid.

Draeger put up some big numbers as she led the LMC in hitting percentage at .453, was 3rd in blocks per game at 1.32, and had 3.84 kills per game. Overall, she led the team with 248 games played, 3.52 kills per game, and a .358 hitting percentage. Draeger also earned LMC Player of the Week honors five times out of 11 weeks, including three of the last four weeks of the season.

Draeger joins a short list of Muskies that have earned All-American status since Lakeland became affiliated with the NCAA in the early 1990's. She joins Lee Kadinger (wrestling), Jill Dewane (basketball) and Steve Plucinski (baseball).

The awards will be presented Dec. 4, 2003, at the NCAA Division III Women's National Championship banquet at Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, Calif. The Division III semifinals on Friday are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and the consolation and championship on Saturday are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in La Verne Supertents at the University of La Verne.

The 2003 All-America selections were made by the AVCA Division III All-America Committee: Jen Bowman, Bates College, chairperson; Vickie Brault, Baldwin-Wallace University; Joel Dearing, Springfield College; Janet Donovan, Ithaca College; Heidi Jaynes, Carleton College; Kim Kelly, Gettysburg College; Mark Massey, University of Puget Sound; Danny Miller, Averett University and Kim Nelson-Brown, Illinois Wesleyan University.