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December 18, 2008


Liberty's Kallie Corbin Headlines 2008 VaSID University Division Volleyball Team
Flames Mentor Shane Pinder Repeats as Coach of the Year

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Liberty University headlines the 2008 VaSID University Division All-State Volleyball team, with junior setter Kallie Corbin (Beaverton, Ore.) claiming Athlete of the Year honors and mentor Shane Pinder being named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after leading the Flames to the NCAA Tournament.  Virginia Tech's freshman setter Erin Leaser (Allentown, Pa.) rounded out the award winners as Rookie of the Year as six student-athletes were named first-team all-state and seven earned second-team honors.

2008 VaSID University Division Volleyball All-State Team

Corbin was named the state's top player after directing Liberty's potent attack with 9.3 assists per set and a .508 assist percentage.  An honorable mention All-America selection by the AVCA, she was also the first setter to be picked as the Big South Player of the Year since 1995 and the first player ever to repeat as the MVP of the Big South Tournament.  This is Corbin's third year on the all-state team, after earning first-team honors one year ago and claiming Rookie of the Year accolades and a berth on the second team in 2006.

Pinder repeated as the state Coach of the Year after guiding Liberty to its second consecutive NCAA berth and a 25-9 record (13-3 Big South).  Sent to play No. 4 Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Liberty fell 3-1, but was one of only two teams to take even a set from a top-10 team in the first round.  Liberty reached the national tournament after winning the Big South regular season and tournament titles for the second year in a row, the first time in school history that it has won back-to-back conference titles.

Leaser was the only freshman named to the all-state teams this year after leading Virginia Tech to a school-record 11-match winning streak when she took over starting duties at setter on September 6.  She totaled 1,084 assists, which stands as the fifth-best season in school history, and her average of 9.77 assists per set ranked seventh in the ACC and earned her a spot on the ACC All-Rookie team.

Joining Corbin on the all-state first team are five players, including classmate Chelaine McCarty (Houston, Ala.).  Also on team are two from William and Mary, senior Kim Mount (Corte Madera, Calif.) and sophomore Erin Skipper (Yorktown, Va.), Virginia Tech sophomore Felicia Willoughby (Pleasanton, Calif.), and Virginia junior Lauren Dickson (Austin, Texas).

On the second team are Leaser, Virginia Commonwealth junior Ivana Rich (Cumberland, Va.), Liberty sophomore Nicki Scripko (Fayetteville, N.C.), James Madison senior Lauren Miles (Tampa, Fla.), George Mason senior Rebecca Walter (Monbulk, Victoria, Australia), Virginia senior Shannon Davis (Austin, Texas), and Hampton senior Alyssa Jackson (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

All-State teams are selected by active members of the Virginia Sports Information Directors Association.  For more information, please visit the VaSID site at http://www.ferrum.edu/athletics/vasid.