Mount Olive quartet honored

Published in Sports on November 24, 2005 1:53 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Heidi Busch was named to the first team, while Sara Christie, Anna Luft and Sam Mitchell earned honorable mention as Mount Olive placed four players on the 2005 AVCA Division II Volleyball All-Atlantic Region Team, as selected by members of the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The award marks the second post-season All-Region honor for Busch, Christie and Mitchell, who earlier this week were named to the 2005 Daktronics All-Atlantic Region Volleyball Team. By being named to the first team, Busch is eligible for All-America consideration.

Busch, a 5-11 senior outside hitter from Fort Wayne, Ind., ranks first in career kills among all active NCAA Division II volleyball players and fifth all-time with 2,456 career kills. Busch is a two-time All-American, including first team honors in 2004. She was named to the All-Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference First Team in each of her four years at Mount Olive. In 2005, Busch averaged 4.54 kills per game and posted a .337 hitting percentage. She was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the NCAA II Atlantic Regional for the second consecutive year.

Christie, a 5-7 senior setter from Champaign, Ill., is the leader in career assists among all active NCAA II volleyball players with 5,992 career assists. She ranks 13th on the all-time list. Christie was named to the 2005 All-CVAC Second Team, marking her third All-Conference award in four years. Christie ranked first in the CVAC in assists per game this season with a 12.07 average per game.

Luft, a 5-10 junior right side hitter from Swansboro, N.C., has been named to the All-CVAC First Team in each of the last two seasons. She earned CVAC Player of the Week honors and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2005 CVAC Volleyball Tournament. During the conference tournament, Luft averaged 3.80 kills per game and posted a .569 hitting percentage in three matches. For the season, she ranked third in the CVAC and 27th in the nation with a .362 hitting percentage.

Mitchell, a 5-8 sophomore outside hitter from Boyd, Wis., was named to the All-CVAC First Team in 2005. She tallied a career-high 23 kills in a win against regionally-ranked West Chester and followed with 21 kills in a win against eventual Atlantic Regional runner-up Lees-McRae. Mitchell, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at this year's CVAC Tournament, averaged 3.52 kills per game during the 2005 season.

Mount Olive won its first-ever CVAC regular season title as the Trojans posted a 19-1 mark in conference play. The Trojans reached the final of the CVAC Tournament and earned a berth in the Atlantic Regional of the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship for the second year in a row.

Mount Olive finished the season with a record of 28-8 as the Trojans set a school single-season record with a .778 winning percentage.