In addition, junior middle hitter Jenna Gideon and sophomore setter Julia Noe were named to the all-conference second team.
Argabright is the fourth Lady Topper to earn league Player-of-the-Year honors, joining Kim Carpenter (1998), Sara Noe (2002) and Caron Blotch (2005). She also joins South Florida’s Belinda Spivey (1986) as the youngest players in league history to win the award. An All-American last season, Argabright has put together an even more impressive sophomore campaign as she leads the Sun Belt with a .391 hitting percentage. Her 4.73 kills per game rank second in the conference, and she stands in the top 30 nationally in both categories. She also has recorded 553 kills on the year — just 29 shy of the WKU single-season record. Argabright earned a first-team all-SBC selection for the second straight year she averaged 4.88 kills per game and recorded a .414 hitting percentage in league matches.
Gideon also earned all-conference accolades for the second straight year. Her .325 hitting percentage ranks fifth in the Sun Belt heading into postseason play, and stands second on the Lady Topper squad averaging 3.37 kills per game. She has recorded double-figure kills in 20 matches this season, finishing with a career-best 25 kills at Arkansas State. She has also recorded a hitting percentage over .400 in 15 matches, while going over .600 on three occasions.
Noe’s second-team selection marks the ninth straight season that a Lady Topper setter has been named to the all-conference team, continuing the trend set by Jenni Miller (1998 and ‘99). Her older sister Sara Noe and her predecessor Caron Blotch were both three-time all-league selections — Noe from 2000-02 and Blotch from 2003-05. One of the most complete setters in the Sun Belt, Noe ranked best among the other league setters in kills (1.64 kills/game), aces (0.49/game) and digs (2.74/game). She also ranks third in the Sun Belt averaging 12.44 assists per game — the eighth-best single-season average in school history. Her 1,294 assists also rank eighth on the WKU season record list. Noe has helped guide the Lady Toppers to a .256 team hitting percentage and 15.76 kills per game — both ranked second in the conference.
The all-conference trio will lead the Lady Toppers into the 2006 Johnny Carino’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament beginning with quarterfinal action on Thursday. The second-seeded Lady Toppers will take on #7 Denver at 5 p.m. (CST) at the Mean Green Volleyball Center at North Texas. WKU is looking to repeat as tournament champions, having won the program’s second title in 2005.
First Team All-Sun Belt
Keila Oliveira (Florida International, S, Jr.)
Yarimar Rosa (Florida International, OH, Fr.)
Lisa Hunter (Denver, OH, Sr.)
Ashley Adams (Middle Tennessee, OH, So.)
Ashley Asberry (Middle Tennessee, MB, So.)
Quanshell Scott (Middle Tennessee, MB, Jr.)
Dobrila Kovacevic (New Orleans, OH, So.)
Megan Argabright (Western Kentucky, MH, So.)
Second Team All-Sun Belt
Robin Aaron (Arkansas State, MH, Jr.)
Amila Barakovic (UALR, OH, So.)
Olga Vergun (Florida International, OH, Fr.)
Kim Muller (Denver, MB, Jr.)
Jayne Duncan (New Orleans, L, Sr.)
Catherine Coffey (North Texas, MB, So.)
Jenna Gideon (Western Kentucky, MH, Jr.)
Julia Noe (Western Kentucky, S, So.)
Player of the Year: Megan Argabright (Western Kentucky, MH, So.)
Defensive Player of the Year: Jayne Duncan (New Orleans, L, Sr.)
Freshman of the Year: Yarimar Rosa (Florida International, OH, Fr.)
Newcomer of the Year: Keila Oliveira (Florida International, S, Jr.)
Coach of the Year: Danijela Tomic, Florida International
