Lancers honored with postseason awards
Four Eastern Wyoming College volleyball players were recognized for their outstanding regular- and post-season play in an award ceremony following the conclusion of the Region IX Tournament on Nov. 9.
Three Lancers – Vanja Pržulj, Belgrade, Serbia; Lauren Feierabend, Denver, CO; Charlène Hosly, Rixheim, France, were named to the All Region IX-North Team, while Pržulj and Lexi Trowbridge, Cheyenne, WY were named to the All-Region IX Tournament Team. Pržulj topped the Region IX-North voting and was named the Region IX-North Player of the Year, as well as the Region IX-North Freshman of the Year.
Feierabend ranked second-highest among Region IX-North freshmen behind only Pržulj.
All four of these Lancers absolutely deserve all the recognition they get,” EWC head coach Dante Geoffrey said. “And what’s nice about four different people being honored is that you can truly see that it’s because of the entire team. It wasn’t one player carrying us from win to win. It was everyone helping everyone else shine, from passers to setters to hitters, blockers allowing the back row to do its job and vice versa. No one gets awarded like this if there’s not team-wide talent and support. We’re so proud of these four and so proud of the program for creating an environment in which players can thrive.
EWC Volleyball Head Coach – Dante Geoffrey
Vanja Pržulj
Pržulj ranked third in the North with 3.58 kills per set, second in overall kills with 465 and third in hitting percentage (.248) amongst the North’s top 10 kills leader. “She was our go-to hitter and she got better as the season went along,” Geoffrey said. “Opponents would game plan to stop her and yet she became more efficient in the second half of season, including the Region Tournament.”
Pržulj hit 13 or more kills in the season’s final six matches, including efforts of 17 kills and .441 hitting percentage in the regular-season finale against Sheridan, 13 kills and a .281 hitting percentage in a post-season win against Central Wyoming, and 17 kills with a .394 hitting percentage in a tournament sweep against Western Wyoming.
Lauren Feierabend
Feierabend averaged 1.83 kills per set with a .314 hitting percentage. The 6-foot-1 middle from Denver was the only hitter in the North to score a hitting percentage better than .300. She also averaged .92 blocks per set and .72 digs per set. “What a force she was for us all year,” Geoffrey said. “She’s so good, so competitive, and so fun to be around. And the best thing about her is she will get so much better. The sky truly is the limit for her.”
Charlène Hosley
Hosly was named to the All-Region IX-North team a season after being named to the All-Region IX-South team as a player for Lamar Community College. Hosly averaged 3.05 kills per set (ranked sixth in the North), 3.57 digs per set (seventh in the North) and 0.38 aces per set (third in the North) as one of the regions most well-rounded players. “Being with Charlène these two seasons has been a privilege. She’s one of the best all-around players I’ve had the chance to coach and she’s as reliable and tough as they come,” Geoffrey said. “The numbers speak for themselves and she’s one of the best passers in the region, and beyond all that she’s just a joy to have in the gym. It’s great to see others recognize her greatness.”
Lexi Trowbridge
Trowbridge, the Lancers’ season-leader in assists (631) was named to the All-Tournament team for her performance in the Region IX Tournament Nov. 6-9. Trowbridge recorded double-doubles in all four of EWC’s postseason matches and averaged 6.33 assists per set in the Lancers’ 6-2 offense. Trowbridge set a new season-high with 32 assists against Otero on Nov. 6 and averaged seven assists per set in EWC’s three-game sweep of Western Wyoming. “Lexi was always one of our most consistent and fiercest competitors, and that was truest during our tournament run,” Geoffrey said. “She was absolutely locked in. She racked up some big assist numbers and she probably could have had more but she was so relentless in her defense that she ended up taking a lot of first touches.” Trowbridge set a season-high with 22 digs in EWC’s four-set win against Central Wyoming on Nov. 7. She finished the season third on the Lancers with 2.19 digs per set and second with .37 aces per set.
