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Women's Volleyball

Cahoon, Ray Lead Titans' All-America Selections

For the first time in school history, the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team had five players named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division III All-America team. Included on the list from UW-Oshkosh were Aleisha Bagin (Fr. • West Bend), Katie Beining (Sr. • Brookfield), Christina Cahoon (Jr. • Watertown), Jacque Ray (Sr. • Richland Center) and Katelyn Vara (Sr. • New Berlin).

Highlighting the selections were Cahoon and Ray who were named the 14-person first-team. Beining claimed a spot on the third-team and Bagin and Vara were named to the honorable mention squad.

Cahoon, a libero, received her second consecutive first team award, leading UW-Oshkosh with 928 digs and 50 service aces. She started all 41 matches she participated in and reached double-digits in digs in all but one match. She posted a career-high 40 digs in a four-set win over Christopher Newport University (Va.) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship on Nov. 19.

With her 928 digs, Cahoon set a new NCAA Division III record for the number of digs in a season since the NCAA went to the current 25-point system for the first four sets. Cahoon becomes just the fourth player at UW-Oshkosh to be named to the first-team on two occasions. Earlier this season she was named to the All-WIAC and All-Midwest Region first-team and collected a spot on the four-person WIAC All-Defensive team. This is the second straight season she has claimed all three honors.

Ray, a middle blocker, claimed first-team laurels for the first-time after leading the Titans with 443 kills and 116 blocks. She started 41 of 42 matches for UW-Oshkosh, reaching double-digits in kills in 24 matches, including a season-high 19 against UW-Platteville on Nov. 7.

Ray garnered Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Player of the Week honors the week of Oct. 26 - Nov. 1, after being named the outstanding player at the Trinity University (Texas) Invitational. She was named to the All-WIAC and All-Midwest Region first-team for the second consecutive year and was twice named a WIAC Player of the Week during the 2009 campaign. Last season, Ray was a third-team All-America selection and this season was named the 2009 WIAC Player of the Year.

Beining, a right-side hitter collected her first All-American prize. She finished second on the team in kills with 377 and added 362 digs and 47 service aces. Beining started 41 of 42 matches for the Titans, registered double digit kills in 19 contests, including a season-high 19 in a four-set win over St. Norbert College on Sept. 15. She was named to the All-WIAC and All-Midwest Region first team this season after being named All-WIAC honorable mention in 2005 and 2006.

Vara, a setter, claimed her award after being named All-WIAC and All-Midwest Region first-team for the first time in her career. For the season, Vara tallied 1,478 assists, 326 digs and was second on the team with 77 blocks. Starting all but one match for UW-Oshkosh, Vara dished out 50 or more assists on four occasions. She provided a career-high 22 digs and added 50 assists in a four-set victory over St. Norbert College on Sept. 26.

Bagin, a left-side hitter made an immediate impact for the Titans finishing third on the team with 336 kills and added 93 digs and 48 blocks. She posted a career-high 16 kills in a four-set wins over the University of Chicago (Ill.) on Sept. 12 and UW-Whitewater on Sept. 23. For her efforts she was named the Midwest Region Freshman of the Year.

All five helped the Titans to a 39-3 record and an appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Championship. The Titans, who compiled a 29-match winning streak to start the season, won the 10th conference title in program history with a perfect 8-0 WIAC mark for the first time since 1990.

UW-Oshkosh reached the top spot in the national rankings for the first time in school history, holding the honor for six weeks during the 2009 campaign. The Titans have been ranked in the top-15 of the NCAA Division III poll every week since Sept. 27, 2005, a span of 56-weeks. The Titans finished the 2009 season as the third-ranked team in the country.