PITTSBURGH, PA - Freshman Yue Liu was honored as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and three other Owls earned all-conference recognition at the postseason awards banquet on the campus of Duquense University. Seniors Alison Runk and Zhen Jia Liu were named to the All-Atlantic 10 team and freshman Ying Sun Ling joined Yue Liu on the all-rookie team in voting conducted by the league's head coaches. Runk was also named to the Academic All-Atlantic 10 team in voting conducted by the league's sports information directors.
Yue Liu is the first Temple volleyball player to be named A-10 Rookie of the Year since Yamit Haba in 2000. The Tian Jing, China native averaged 4.77 kills per game and hit .291 in conference matches to pace the Owls in both categories. For the season, she leads the team in hitting (.272) and is second on the team in kills/game (3.71).
Runk was named to the all-conference team for the third consecutive season. The senior from Lititz, Pa. averaged 12.23 assists per game in league play and chipped in with 2.52 digs per game. She ranks fifth in the A-10 in assists (10.92) and is a two-time A-10 Setter of the year. Also named to the all-academic team, Runk sports a 3.65 grade point average as an accounting major.
Zhen Jia Liu earns all-conference recognition for the first time in her career after averaging 4.0 kills/game and hitting .233 in A-10 matches. She leads the Owls in overall kills/game (3.91) and is second in hitting (.237).
Ying Sun Ling joins Yue Liu on the All-Rookie team after a rookie campaign in which she averaged 2.52 kills/game and hit .206 in conference action. For the season, Ying Sun Ling is averaging 2.24 kills/game and hitting .203.
Dayton's Christy Utnage was tabbed Player of the Year, Molly Martin of Xavier was named Setter of the Year, and both Floyd Deaton of Xavier and Duquesne's Steve Opperman shared the 2004 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor. Kate Duchek of Xavier was selected as Student-Athlete of the Year.
Temple opens play in the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. against second seeded Xavier. The winner advances to Saturday's Championship game against the winner of Dayton and Duquesne.
