Volleyball News Releases

Dudgeon tabbed MVP in Iowa Conference; Paczosa named to first team 

MOUNT VERNON - Cornell senior middle hitter Laura Dudgeon (Bettendorf/Bettendorf) has been named the Iowa Conference's Volleyball Most Valuable Player and joined senior outside hitter Kristin Paczosa (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) as First Team All-IIAC selections, it was announced Friday.

Cornell junior setter Hannah Boehmer (Riverside/Mid-Prairie) earned honorable mention.

Dudgeon, who also earned first team honors in 2008, became the program's first IIAC MVP since the Rams joined the league in 1997. She joined Kori Sims (2004, 2003) as the only Rams named to the league's first team twice in a career. 

Dudgeon and Paczosa are the first set of Cornell teammates to gain first team all-IIAC honors in the same season.

Dudgeon leads the conference in kills and hitting percentage, ranking among the Division III leaders in both categories. Her .356 hitting percentage in the regular season is a school record. Dudgeon's 3.72 kills per set rank third on the school's single-season list. She also leads the team in blocks with 71 (0.72 bps). Dudgeon has recorded double-digit kills in 20 matches and topped 20 kills three times, including a season-high 23 against Beloit Sept. 12.

Dudgeon, a three-time IIAC Volleyball Player of the Week this fall, was named to all-tournament teams at Illinois College (Sept. 5-6) and Illinois Wesleyan (Sept. 11-12). During the course of the season, she became Cornell's career leader in kills (currently with 1,382) and set a single-match record for hitting efficiency with a .778 (14 kills, 0 errors, 18 attacks) against Dubuque Sept. 23.

Paczosa received all-conference accolades for the second time as a Ram, after landing on the second team in 2007. She ranks second on the team in kills (3.25 kps) and digs (2.62 dps), posting a team-high nine double-doubles. Paczosa has tallied at least 10 kills in 19 matches, including a season-high 21 against Carleton Oct. 3. She also has a team-high 42 service aces. 

Paczosa was named to three all-tournament teams this season: Illinois College (Sept. 5-6), IIAC-MIAC Border Battle (Oct. 2-3) and UW-La Crosse (Oct. 23-24). She reached the 1,000-kill mark for her career earlier this fall, currently standing second on Cornell's all-time list with 1,326. 

Boehmer was named honorable mention for the second straight year. She averaged 9.61 assists in the regular season, ranking second in the IIAC. Boehmer topped the 1,000-assist mark for the second consecutive season with 1,038. She is approaching her own single-season record of 1,118 assists, set in 2008.   

Luther's Jane Gibbs was named the IIAC's Coach of the Year.

The No. 4 seed Rams took a 23-8 overall record into Friday's first-round IIAC Tournament match against Loras in Indianola.