Horn, 5 players honored by LSC
Horn named top coach; Bernhardt, Slate on first team
RICHARDSON -- ACU head volleyball coach Brek Horn and five of her players were recognized Monday for their roles in the Wildcats' 25-11 campaign in 2003.
Horn was named the Lone Star Conference South Division Coach of the Year, while sophomore outside hitter Michelle Bernhardt of Hereford and sophomore middle blocker Amanda Slate of Hallsville were named first team all-LSC South Division. Senior outside hitter Haylee Hartline of Amarillo was named to the second team, and junior libero Kellen Morrow of Arlington and sophomore setter Lindsey Martin of Sugar Land were named honorable mention.
Bernhardt, who was named CoSIDA Academic all-District VI on Monday, was the second-leading vote-getter in the coaches' vote for Player of the Year honors, which went to West Texas A&M senior setter Kendra Morgan. The Lady Buffs on Saturday night won their fifth straight LSC championship behind Morgan's play, and this weekend will continue their season at the NCAA Division II Southwest Regional tournament.
The Hereford native finished the season with 623 kills, the second-highest single-season total in school history. She was second in the LSC in kills, second in kills per game (4.61) and fourth in hitting percentage (.280).
Slate earned first team honors after leading the LSC in total blocks (151) and finishing second in blocks per game at 1.12. She had 35 solo blocks and 116 block assists during the season.
Horn, a native of Hereford, is the first ACU volleyball coach to earn conference Coach of the Year honors. She led the Wildcats to a 25-11 mark this season, the sixth-best season in Wildcat history (.694 winning percentage), and the sixth-most wins in school history. Her 2000 team that finished 29-6 has the best single-season winning percentage in school history at .829, giving Horn two of the top six seasons in school history.
The Wildcats' head coach since 1999, Horn has directed ACU to 114-57 record in five seasons for a winning percentage of .667, by far the best career total in ACU volleyball history, and one of the top winning percentages for any ACU coach in any sport. ACU has won at least 18 matches in each of her five seasons as the head coach.
Hartline earned second team honors for the second straight season, finishing second on the team with 464 kills to go along with 176 digs. Hartline finishes her career fourth on the school's all-time kills list with 1,303.
Morrow earned all-conference honors for the first time after leading ACU with 522 digs from the libero position, the fourth-best single-season total in school history. She finished fourth in the LSC in digs per game at 3.90. Martin posted a career-best 1,336 assists, despite missing four matches midway through the season because of an ankle sprain. She finished fourth in the LSC in both assists and assists per game (11.72). Her 2003 assist total is the third-est single-season total in school history, and she is currently fifth on the school's career assist list with 2,429.
ACU finished seventh in the Southwest region in 2003, missing by one spot the Wildcats' first-ever trip to the volleyball regional tournament. Horn, however, loses only one starter (Hartline) off this year's team, and that should make the Wildcats a favorite to earn a regional bid in 2004.
