YSU’s Jeffery named setter of the year

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State sophomore Val Jeffery was named Horizon League setter of the year, the league announced Monday.

Penguin teammates Lexi Egler and Sam Brown were also recognized in a postseason vote of the conference coaches.

Jeffery is the first setter of the year recipient in conference history. She was joined on the all-league team by Egler. Brown was voted to the all-freshman team.

YSU has had a pair of all-Horizon League honorees in back-to-back seasons and has received all-league recognition five times in the last three years. There were only three YSU honorees in the school’s first 11 years in the conference.

“We are very excited for Val, Lexi, Sam and our program,” said YSU volleyball coach Mark Hardaway.

“There are so many deserving players in the conference and I am happy we got three players recognized for their efforts this year.”

Jeffery, who transferred to YSU in January, helped lead the Penguins to their best regular season in 15 years and their highest finish in the Horizon League. Jeffery averaged 10.4 assists, the second-most in program history, while running an that posted its best hitting percentage since 1999.

Egler was one of only two Horizon League players to register both 300 kills and 300 digs during the regular season, and she ranked fifth in the conference with 346 kills. Also an all-league honoree in 2013, she is just the second Penguin to be named all-Horizon League twice and the first to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons.

Brown is YSU’s first selection to the all-freshman team. She led the Horizon League with 40 aces and had 38 more kills than any other league freshman. She was one of only two league freshmen to post both 200 kills and 200 digs.

The Horizon League tournament begins Friday at Oakland University. The fourth-seeded Penguins play fifth-seeded Cleveland State at 7:30 p.m.