ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis senior outside hitter Danielle Rygelski has been named the 2016 Atlantic 10 Conference volleyball Player of the Year. She is the third Billiken to receive a conference Player of the Year award and the first to do so since Sammi McCloud in 2009.
Rygelski was the top hitter in the A-10 all season, earning a record seven Atlantic 10 Player of the Week award. She finished the regular season leading the NCAA in kills per set (5.97), total points (710.5) and total kills (627). Rygelski also leads the A-10 in aces per set (0.53, seventh nationally), attacks per set (13.61, fourth nationally), points per set (6.77, second nationally) and total attacks (1,429, seventh nationally).
If Rygelski maintains her current pace, she will rank second in NCAA history in kills per set (in 25-point scoring format). She is currently 15th on the NCAA’s all-time single-season list with 627 kills.
Rygelski has the second-best (31, vs. George Mason), third-best (29, vs. Davidson), sixth-best (26, vs. Illinois State) and 12th-best (24, vs. GW) three-set kill totals in the NCAA this season. She is second among all active NCAA Division I athletes with 1,912 career kills and second on SLU’s all-time kill list. Rygelski has the most kills by a Billiken in the rally-scoring era.
Rygelski, an education major, also earned a spot on the conference All-Academic team. The senior has a 3.58 cumulative grade point average.
The Billikens will play the first match of this weekend’s Atlantic 10 Conference Volleyball Championship. No. 3 Saint Louis will take on No. 6 Davidson at 5 p.m. on Friday in Chaifetz Pavilion.
News courtesy of Atlantic 1o.
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