Tess Clark and Molly Sauer Earn ACC Honors

North Carolina sophomore outside hitter Taylor Leath has been selected as the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year alongside teammate, outside hitter Julia Scoles, who has been selected as ACC Freshman of the Year. Louisville middle blocker, Tess Clark, and libero Molly Sauer represented the Cardinals on the conference list.

The pair are coached by Joe Sagula, who was awarded Coach of the Year honors, as decided on a vote by the league's 15 head coaches. Joining the Tar Heel duo with individual honors are Duke's Sasha Karelov as ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Pittsburgh's Kamalani Akeo as ACC Setter of the Year.

Leath contributed to the dominant North Carolina offense that sits atop the ACC rankings with a .282 hitting percentage. In conference play, the Tar Heel tallied 232 kills, 178 digs, 50 blocks and 11 aces. She is the first North Carolina Player of the Year since 2005 and sixth overall. Leath was also a two-time ACC Player of the Week and was the first in program history to be honored as the AVCA National Player of the Week and ESPNW Player of the Week.

Along with her Freshman of the Year honors, Scoles was also selected to the All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Freshman Team. Scoles was a two-time ACC Freshman of the Week honoree and was the first true freshman in school history to win ACC Player of the Week honors. She leads the Tar Heel team and ranks sixth in the ACC for service aces (29)

North Carolina's Sagula was at the helm of the Tar Heels' successful season. As the ACC Champion, his Tar Heels (27-3, 19-1) earned an automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Under his guidance, North Carolina was ranked in the ACVA Coaches Poll for 13 consecutive weeks, holding a place in the top 10 for nine. The winningest coach in North Carolina history (778-431), this is Sagula's fifth time being honored as the ACC of the Year.

Thirteen schools are represented on the All-ACC teams, led by North Carolina with seven selections, followed by Pittsburgh with six and Duke with five. Florida State had four student-athletes recognized, along with two from NC State and Wake Forest. Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech each had one selection.

Three teams received bids to the 2016 NCAA Tournament: No. 7 North Carolina, Florida State and Pittsburgh.
Carolina plays host to first/second rounds which begin on December 2-3.

2016 ACC Volleyball Individual Awards
Player of the Year: Taylor Leath, So., OH, North Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year: Sasha Karelov, Sr., L, Duke
Setter of the Year: Kamalani Akeo, So., S, Pittsburgh
Freshman of the Year: Julia Scoles, Fr., OH, North Carolina
Coach of the Year: Joe Sagula, North Carolina

2016 All-ACC Volleyball First Team
Sasha Karelov#                 Sr.           L Duke
Leah Meyer!                      So.          MB                         Duke
Jordan Tucker#                 Sr.           MB Duke
Katie Horton#                    Sr.           OH                          Florida State
Milica Kubura!                   Jr.           OH                          Florida State
Teegan Van Gunst! Sr.           OH Georgia Tech
Olga Strantzali!                 Jr.           OH                          Miami
Taylor Leath                      So.          OH                          North Carolina
Julia Scoles                       Fr.           OH North Carolina
Taylor Treacy!                    Jr.-R       OPP                       North Carolina
Julia Brown Jr.           OH NC State
Jenna Potts Sr.           MB Pittsburgh
Stephanie Williams Jr.           OH                          Pittsburgh
Lindsey Owens# Sr.           OH                          Virginia Tech

2016 All-ACC Volleyball Second Team
Leah Perri                         Sr.           OH Clemson
Mara Green                       Sr.-R      MB                         Florida State
Melanie Keil                       Sr.           MB Florida State
Tess Clark# Jr.           MH Louisville
Molly Sauer                       So.          L Louisville
Abigail Curry Sr.           S North Carolina
Taylor Fricano                    Jr.-R       MH                         North Carolina
Maggie Speaks                  Sr.           S NC State
Ryann DeJarld                   So.          L Notre Dame
Samantha Fry!                   Jr.           MB                         Notre Dame
Caroline Holt                      Jr.           S Notre Dame
Mariah Bell Jr.           OH                          Pittsburgh
Kamalani Akeo                  So.          S Pittsburgh
Jasmine Burton                 Sr.           OH                          Virginia

2016 All-ACC Freshman Team
Samantha Amos RS Duke
Cindy Marina                     S Duke
Taylor Borup                      OH          North Carolina
Julia Scoles                       OH          North Carolina
Jemma Yeadon OH          Notre Dame
Nika Markovic OPP       Pittsburgh
Layne Van Buskirk MH         Pittsburgh
Caitlyn Della MH         Wake Forest
Caroline Rassenfoss          OH          Wake Forest

! – Two-time selection
# - Three-time selection

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University of Louisville Athletics

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