The Windsor Lancers are pleased to announce that rookie outside hitter Yaila Sealy has been named the women's volleyball OUA west division Rookie of the Year, while fourth year Megan Kalbfleisch has won the Award of Merit as announced the Ontario University Athletics Monday.
 
The Blue & Gold are also honoured to have two Lancers named OUA west division all-stars. Fourth year Amie Slawson and second year middle blocker Ally Winik were also honoured as a second team all-stars. Sealy was also named to the OUA west division all-rookie team.
 
Sealy was the west division's best in terms of newcomers this season. The Etobicoke, Ont. native took the top left side role for the Windsor Lancers midway through November and never looked back en route to an award-winning OUA debut. Sealy averaged 2.71 kills per set on 176 total kills, but more than just her knack for hitting was her ability to avoid the errors, as she made just 73 on her 564 attack attempts. Rounding out what was a robust rookie campaign, Sealy totaled 213 total points (3.3 per set) and 106 digs for the Lancers.
 
"Yaila came in and worked very hard every day to get on the court and become a regular contributor and starter with the team," said Lancer head coach Lucas Hodgson. "She finished as one of the most consistent scorers in the league."
 
Not only were student-athletes exceeding expectations on the court, but also beyond it, extending their extraordinary reach to both the classroom and community. And that included Kalbfleisch who turned her incomparable contributions to the division's Award of Merit selection.
 
The defensive specialist made her mark both within and beyond the sport. When focusing on volleyball, Kalbfleisch spends time helping the South Country Bandits with their setting fundamentals, while also running positional nights working on skill development with athletes between ages 10 and 17. The fourth-year Lancer also works on skill acquisition with the younger age group, Little Spikes. Beyond passing on her passion for the game to the younger generation, Kalbfleisch is also a referee for intramurals.
 
When venturing outside of volleyball, the human kinetics major also puts her classroom experience to good use, volunteering at the John McGivney Children's Centre to help with pediatric therapy, as well as with the Centre for Performance in Human Kinetics to help test community members' body composition.
 
"Megan has done it all for our team; set, libero, serve and lead by example," said Hodgson. "She does so much in the community and with our volleyball partners and I am so happy to see her recognized for those efforts in her final year with us."
 
A defensive specialist for the blue and gold, Slawson led the OUA in total digs and digs per set with 319 and 4.56 respectively. Her leadership and skill helped lead the Lancers to their best record in over a decade.
 
"Amie was a leader on and off the court," said Hodgson. "She led the league in digs per set and was our best passer all year. Seeing her grow over the last two years has been fun to watch and I am so excited for her to be recognized this year."
 
Winik was also a power house for the Lancers, finishing the season with 129 kills and 191 points. She placed second in the OUA in hitting percentage at .337, as well as blocks per set with 1.07.
 
"Being second overall in both hitting percentage and block per set makes Ally one of the most dominant middles in the league," Hodgson said. "She had a stellar year and deserves this recognition."
 
OUA Major Award Winners
Player of the Year (West) – Sarah Glynn, Waterloo
Rookie of the Year (West) – Yaila Sealy, Windsor
Award of Merit (West) – Megan Kalbfleisch, Windsor
Coach of the Year (West) – Steve Delaney, Brock
 
OUA First-Team All-Stars (West)
Sarah Glynn, Waterloo
Laura Condotta, Brock
Jesse Nairn, McMaster
Kristina Curcin, Western
Melissa Langegger, Western
Alexandre Curran, Guelph
Jade Ziebarth, Guelph


OUA Second-Team All-Stars (West)
Darby Taylor, Brock
Emily Armstrong, Brock
Tara Tanasijevic, Guelph
Claire Gagne, Waterloo
Meghan Routier, Lakehead
Ally Winik, Windsor
Amie Slawson, Windsor
 
OUA All-Rookie Team (West)
Yaila Sealy, Windsor
Nikolina Malic, McMaster
Marina Vesovic, McMaster
Samantha Casey, Brock
Megan Nahachewsky, Lakehead
Aleiah Torres, Brock
Maddie Bowles, Western