AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – Three members of the Capital University volleyball team were awarded All-Ohio Athletic Conference recognition on Tuesday after voting conducted by the league’s head coaches. Junior Allison Hostetler was an All-OAC Second Team pick while seniors Jackie Helm and Kelly Steineman were All-OAC Honorable Mention selections.
Hostetler, a 5-11 middle blocker from Dalton, Ohio, led the Crusaders with 2.60 kills per set and 1.06 blocks per set this season. She posted a career-best 296 kills this season while hitting at a .297 clip and recording 36 solo blocks. The 2007 All-OAC Honorable Mention selection out of Dalton High School ranked second in the OAC in blocks, eighth in hitting percentage and 10th in kills. She tallied double-digits in kills 14 times this season including a season-best 20 at Otterbein. Hostetler also added a double-double with 11 kills and 10 blocks against Franklin & Marshall and was awarded OAC Player of the Week honors one week later after tallying 15 kills and seven blocks against nationally-ranked Mount Vernon Nazarene.
Helm, a 5-10 outside hitter from Lancaster, Ohio, finished her career as Capital’s all-time leader in career digs with 2,023 after ranking second on the team with 3.55 digs per set this season. She also concluded one of the best all-around careers at CU with 134 career service aces, which is sixth best in program history and 982 career kills after ranking second on the team with 2.26 kps in 2008. Her 42 service aces this season were a career-high and ranked her 11th in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Fisher Catholic High School graduate was also an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team pick this season and is currently a candidate for Academic All-America honors. The 2004 OAC Freshman of the Year was an All-OAC Academic Team selection in 2005 and 2007 as well as an Academic All-District pick in 2005.
Steineman, a 5-11 right side from New Bremen, Ohio, posted career highs of 209 kills, a .256 hitting percentage and 76 total blocks during her final collegiate season. She ranked second on the team in blocks with 0.67 bps and fourth in kills with 1.83 kps. The New Bremen High School product posted 10 kills or more five times this season including two matches against nationally ranked opponents with 13 kills versus Mount Vernon Nazarene and 10 at Wittenberg.
Capital finished with its eighth consecutive 20-win season in 2008 after posting a 24-9 overall record with all nine of their losses coming to regionally-ranked opponents including five NCAA Tournament participants. CU placed fifth in the OAC standings in 2008 to earn their 13th-straight appearance to the OAC Tournament and 14th overall under the direction of 15-year Head Coach Pam Briggs.