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MVNU Volleyball Players Earn NCCAA East Region Honors
written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Four members of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's volleyball team along with their coach were honored recently when the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region awards were announced.


Shena Beheler	Tiffany Milburn

Rachael Walpole	Courtney Springer

Highlighting the list for the Lady Cougars was junior middle hitter Shena Beheler from Butler, Ohio, who was selected as the NCCAA East Region Player of the Year. The former Fredericktown High School star leads MVNU with 589 kills and 176 blocks as she has moved into third place in school history in both categories (1,881 kills and 671 blocks). Beheler has also recorded 24 assists, 43 aces, and 358 digs.

Tiffany Milburn, a junior libero from Centerburg, Ohio, joined Beheler on the NCCAA East Region First Team. The former Centerburg High School standout leads the Lady Cougars with 658 digs and 50 aces, and she recently broke the school record with 1,089 serve reception attempts this year. Milburn now ranks eighth in school history with 1,563 career digs and sixth with 2,400 career serve reception attempts.

Rachael Walpole, a senior setter from Centerburg, Ohio, rounded out the MVNU players on the NCCAA East Region First Team. The former Centerburg High School product had handed out a team-high 998 assists this year along with 229 kills, 261 digs, 37 blocks, and 34 aces.

Courtney Springer, a freshman right-side hitter from Van Wert, Ohio, was an NCCAA East Region Honorable Mention selection. The former Crestview High School star is second on the team with 265 kills and has added 110 blocks, 57 assists, 19 aces, and 194 digs in her first collegiate season.

MVNU head coach Paul Swanson was also named the NCCAA East Region Coach of the Year as he guided the Lady Cougars to their 15th NCCAA East Region title and the program’s 16th straight trip to the NCCAA National Tournament.

MVNU will take the weekend off before returning to action on Tuesday when the Lady Cougars will host Tiffin University in MVNU’s regular-season finale. The AMC South Division match is slated to get under way at 7:00 p.m.