Yartseva Stewart and Kolesnikova Named Honorable Mention All-Americans
December 14, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 14, 2006
University of Louisville volleyball players Ana Yartseva Stewart and Tatyana Kolesnikova were named to the 2006 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American team.
Stewart, an all-AVCA Northeast Region selection, also earned All-American in both 2004 and 2005. She earned the triple crown this year when she was named 2006 BIG EAST Most Outstanding Player as well was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and 2006 Pre-Season BIG EAST MVP. She was also named as an all-conference first team selection. In her final season, Stewart helped the Cardinals their first conference tournament championships after 11 straight conference victories to close the regular season and a 13-1 league mark and second-place finish in BIG EAST play. Stewart finished the season as the top individual in the conference in hitting percentage (.438). The Cardinal senior led the team in hitting percentage (.438) and blocks (1.37 bpg). In addition, the Anapa, Russia native ranked second on the team in digs (2.52 dpg) and third in kills (2.46 kpg). Stewart was named to the conference weekly honor roll on Sept. 11 and Sept. 25.
Louisville newcomer outside hitter Tatyana Kolesnikova was tabbed BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and also received all-conference first team honors as well as being named to the AVCA All-Northeast Region squad. Kolesnikova became the first Cardinal to be named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. The Tashkent, Uzbekistan native was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week a league-best three times this season and was named conference Player of the Week on Oct. 10. Kolesnikova played a pivotal role for the Cardinals offensively as she led the team in kills with an average of 3.52 (303 total). In addition, she posted a hitting percentage of .352, which ranked second among individuals in the league in all conference matches.
