Liz Schnelle and Liz Decima both selected as Academic All-OAC for Volleyball

Schnelle / Decima

By Steven Wright

ADA — Seniors Liz Schnelle and Liz Decima have both been named to the 2009 Volleyball Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference team in voting conducted by the OAC faculty representatives.

Schnelle earned Academic All-OAC, while Decima earned Honorable Mention Academic All-OAC.

For Schnelle, this is the third consecutive season that she has been named Academic All-OAC, as she has already been named CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine First Team Academic All-District earlier in the year.

The New Bremen native ended her career as the all-time kills leader at Ohio Northern and in the OAC with 2,222. Her 2,208 kills against NCAA opponents ranks 15th all-time in the NCAA.

She was also named OAC Player of the Year this season for the second straight year.

This is the first time that Decima has earned the award as a member of the ONU volleyball team, but she earned the award last season as a member of the ONU softball team.

Decima was fourth on the team this season with 252 digs and played in 117 of ONU's 120 sets on the year.

The ONU volleyball team reached the Great Lakes Regional Championship and the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to Hope (Mich.) in four sets last Saturday.