HEMPSTEAD, NY - Four members of the University of Delaware volleyball team have earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors, the CAA announced at its annual awards banquet held Thursday evening in Hempstead, NY.

Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Gibson earned first-team honors, junior outside hitter Colleen Walsh (at right) earned second-team honors and freshmen middle hitters Michelle LaLonde and Kelly Matthias were named to the all-rookie team.

The Blue Hens finished the regular season with a record of 20-8 including an 11-6 mark in CAA play. The No. 5 seed in the CAA tournament, the Hens will take on No. 4 Northeastern at 5 p.m. at Hofstra University’s Physical Fitness Center in the CAA quarterfinals.

Gibson (Taos, NM/Taos) ranks second on the Blue Hens in both kills (464) and digs (442) during the 2006 season and third in the CAA in points per game (4.89), fourth in kills per game (4.26), eighth in service aces per game (0.39), and ninth in digs per game (4.06). She was named to the all-tournament team for the Delaware Invitational and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Wisconsin-Green Bay Tournament. Gibson earned CAA Player of the Week honors for the week of October 30. A member of the CAA All-Rookie team in 2005, she was the only freshman or sophomore named to the first team this season.

Walsh (Cleveland, OH/Regina) leads the CAA with 520 kills on the season and also ranks second in the conference in points per game (5.04) and ninth in the league in hitting percentage (.284). A second-team All-CAA selection in 2005, Walsh earned all-tournament team honors at the Delaware Invitational, and was named the CAA Player of the Week twice, for the weeks of September 11 and November 13. She recorded her 1,000th career kill during the season and her 32 kills against William & Mary was the second-highest total in Delaware history.

LaLonde (Wooster, OH/Wooster) ranks third on the Hens with 265 kills and second on the team with 93 blocks. She finished the regular season seventh in the CAA in hitting percentage (.313). LaLonde was named to he Wisconsin-Green Bay all-tournament team and twice earned CAA Rookie of the Week honors this fall.

Matthias (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown), a redshirt freshman, leads the Hens with 102 blocks and ranks fourth on the squad with 187 kills. She was named CAA Rookie of the Week for the week of September 11.