Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, DE -- University of Delaware senior outside hitter Colleen Walsh was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, while Megan Welch, Steph Barry, Kelly Gibson, Katie Dennehy, and head coach Bonnie Kenny were also honored during the conference’s annual awards banquet held on Thursday evening in Delaware's Clayton Hall.

Along with Walsh (at right), Welch earned Setter of the Year honors and Steph Barry was named the conference’s top Defensive Specialist. Bonnie Kenny also took home Coach of the Year honors, while Kelly Gibson was selected to the All-Conference third team and Katie Dennehy earned All-Rookie honors.

Walsh, a senior from Cleveland, OH, is just the third Blue Hen ever to earn Player of the Year honors, and she is the first to receive them from the CAA. Karen Kunselman was named the top player in the America East in 1995, while Kathy Shaw garnered North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year honors in 1994.

During the regular season, Walsh posted a conference-high 510 kills. She also led the CAA with a 4.47 kills-per-game average, finished second with a 4.96 points-per-game mark, and placed sixth overall with a .276 hitting percentage.

Walsh also set the Delaware record for most career kills this season, passing Karen Kunselman’s mark of 1,553 set from 1993-96. Her 3.87 kills-per-game average is also the highest in school history.

A two-time second team All-Conference selection prior to this season, Walsh was named to the 1st team ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 squad earlier this year.

Welch (at left), a senior from Yorba Linda, CA, is the first Blue Hen to take home Setter of the Year honors. During the season, she earned CAA Player of the Week accolades twice as she led the conference with 1,501 assists and a 13.17 assists-per-game average.

Named the Most Valuable Player of the Coastal Carolina Tournament, Welch became just the second Blue Hen in school history to record 4,000 career assists. Her 11.71 assists-per-game average is also the highest in school history, while she holds six of the top-10 spots on the school’s single-match assists list.

Barry, a sophomore from Long Beach, CA, is also the first Delaware player to earn Defensive Specialist of the Year honors. During the year, the Hens’ libero led the conference with 57 aces and 734 digs, which set a new single season school record. Her 6.44 assists-per-game average was also the highest in the CAA and the third best in all of Division I volleyball.

In the second last match of the regular season against William & Mary, she recorded her 1,000th career dig. She became the quickest Blue Hen to reach that mark after doing so in just her 61st career match and 225th game.

Gibson, a junior outside hitter from Taos, NM, earned postseason CAA honors for the third time in her career. As a freshman, she was named to the All-Rookie team, while she garnered first team All-Conference honors last season.

During the year, she notched 338 digs, the second most on the team, and 313 kills, the third highest total on the Hens. Named the CAA Player of the Week on November 5, she recorded both her 1,000th career dig and 1,000th career kill during the season. Gibson became just the fifth Blue Hen to reach the century mark in both categories.

Dennehy, a freshman from Charlotte, NC, earned a spot on the All-Rookie team after setting a new Delaware freshman record with 351 kills. Her .282 hitting percentage during conference matches also was the fourth best in the CAA.

Earlier this season, Dennehy earned Rookie of the Week honors after posting 29 kills during the team’s two matches against Georgia State and UNC Wilmington. Against the Seahawks, she notched 14 kills without a single attack error. It was the most kills without an error by a Blue Hen in over three years.

Kenny (at right), who is in her sixth season at Delaware, earned her second CAA Coach of the Year honor after sharing the award in 2004. This season, she has led the team to its first regular season championship since 1995.

Against James Madison, Kenny recorded her 100th career win at Delaware. She now stands at 103-79 with the Hens and 443-331 overall, including her stints with South Carolina and Massachusetts.

Along with the six Blue Hens, the CAA honored Northeastern’s Caitlin Tittl as the Rookie of the Year. Allyson Halls of James Madison, Shellane Ogoshi of Hofstra, and Kira Batura of Northeastern also were named to the first team All-Conference squad.

AGATE:
First Team All-CAA
Stephanie Barry (Delaware), Kira Batura (Northeastern), Allyson Halls (James Madison), Shellane Ogoshi (Hofstra), Colleen Walsh (Delaware), Megan Welch (Delaware).

Second Team All-CAA
Lauren DeTurk (Northeastern), Lauren Engle (Hofstra), Jaqueline Kohler (George Mason), Kim Mount (William & Mary), Jena Pierson (James Madison), Rebecca Walter (George Mason).

Third Team All-CAA
Amanda Beyersdorf (Hofstra), Kelly Gibson (Delaware), Laryssa Goncalves (VCU), Maddie Haseltine (Towson), Amy Lusk (Georgia State), Lauren Miles (James Madison), Caitlin Tittl (Northeastern).

All-Rookie Team
Fernanda Bartels (George Mason), Ginny Bray (William & Mary), Lindsay Callahan (James Madison), Katie Dennehy (Delaware), Jessica Ojukwu (VCU), Caitlin Tittl (Northeastern).

2007 CAA Player of the Year: Colleen Walsh, Delaware
2007 CAA Setter of the Year: Megan Welch, Delaware
2007 CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year: Stephanie Barry, Delaware
2007 CAA Rookie of the Year: Caitlin Tittl, Northeastern
2007 CAA Coach of the Year: Bonnie Kenny, Delaware