CEDAR FALLS – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its post season award winners and the annual ceremony prior to the MVC Volleyball Championship. Head Coach Bobbi Petersen earns her sixth Coach of the Year award while Karlie Taylor was named MVC Player of the Year and Rachel Koop earns Setter of the Year honors. Four Panthers were named First Team All-MVC in Karlie Taylor, Rachel Koop, Kate Busswitz, and Kaylissa Arndorfer. Emily Holterhaus and Kaylissa Arndorfer were named to the All-Freshman Team.
Head Coach Bobbi Petersen has been named MVC Coach of the Year for the sixth time after earning the award in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. Petersen earned 500 career wins in 2019 and became the UNI all-time wins leaders with her 504th victory.
Karlie Taylor was named First Team All-MVC for the third time in her career. The 2019 MVC Player of the Year has been a force throughout her career, ranking 3rd all-time at UNI for career kills. The standout senior leads the conference in kills and points, averaging 4.42 kills and 4.95 points per set.
Rachel Koop has set the Panther offense the last two seasons, earning First Team All-MVC honors both season and claiming the Setter of the Year award in 2019. Koop leads the MVC with 12.16 assists per set in league play. The senior setter has also turned heads in the national rankings, ranking 13th in assists per set and leads the nation with 1362 assists.
Kate Busswitz claims a spot on the on the First Team after earning a spot on the second team a season ago. Busswitz averaged 2.90 kills per set in 2019, finishing second in total points with 375.5. She has been a force in the front row, recording 17 solo blocks and 49 block assists.
Kaylissa Arndorfer claims a spot on the First Team as well as landing on the All-Freshman Team. Arndorfer finished with a .367 hitting percentage in league play, leading the conference and finished 7th with 3.29 kills per set.
Emily Holterhaus landed on the All-Freshman team, finishing with a .208 hitting percentage in 2019. Holterhaus recorded a 16 solo blocks and 44 block assists on top of her 188 kills.
