From Washington University Athletics
Washington University in St. Louis senior setter Allison Zastrow was named the 2015 Division III American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Player of the Year, as announced Wednesday evening by the AVCA.
Zastrow is the eighth individual in WashU school history to garner AVCA Player of the Year honors, joining Lori Nishikawa (1988, 1989), Kathy Bersett (1990), Lisa Becker (1992), Amy Albers (1993, 1994), Shelley Swan (1995), Jennifer Martz (1997) and Rebecca Rotello (2002).
"I am so honored to have been chosen as Player of the Year," Zastrow said. "None of my accomplishments this year would have been possible without the overwhelming heart and outstanding abilities of my team. I am the luckiest setter in the world to have such a force of an offense, with four players over 1,000 kills in their careers, and such a stellar defense. I love my teammates and owe everything to them."
A First-Team All-American and the 2015 University Athletic Association (UAA) Most Valuable Player, Zastrow finished the season with an NCAA Division III-best 1,525 assists. She helped lead the Bears' offense to top-10 rankings in kills per set (first-14.41), assists per set (second-13.28), total kills (second-1,902), total assists (second-1,753), and hitting percentage (fifth-.268). In addition to leading the country in total assists, Zastrow was second individually with 11.64 assists per set.
"I couldn't be more proud of Allison," head coach Vanessa Walby said. "She is such a fundamentally sound player, and I am so happy to see all of her hard work pay off. Throughout her career, she was asked to play many different roles. She never questioned anything, and always did what was best for our team. It is nice to see her rewarded for her efforts, skills and leadership. She is truly one of a kind, and I am so honored that I was able to coach her the past two seasons."
Zastrow, who also earned All-Central Region and All-UAA First-Team honors in 2015, ranks ninth on WashU's all-time single-season leaderboard with her 1,525 assists this season. She is also 10th in school history with 2,624 career assists. Zastrow was selected as the UAA Setter/Defensive Athlete of the Week five times as a senior and seven times in her career. She was also named to the all-tournament team at the North Central College Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament in October.
A 2014 All-UAA Second Team and All-Central Region Honorable Mention honoree, Zastrow played in 147 of 148 career matches for the Bears. During her four-year career, she saw action at setter, right-side hitter, and defensive specialist, while also playing middle hitter in one match. In addition to her 2,624 assists, Zastrow finished her career with 588 kills, 803 digs, 143 blocks and 77 service aces.