PRINCETON, N.J. – Trudy Vande Berg, The Wendy Schaenen '79 Head Coach Of Volleyball, was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year when the all-conference teams were announced this afternoon. In just its fourth year of existence, Vande Berg becomes the first Big Red volleyball coach to earn the award, headlining four overall selections for Cornell, as Kiley McPeek (first-team), Jenna Phelps (second-team), and Kit McCarty (honorable mention) were also honored.
 
Vande Berg was voted Coach of the Year by her peers after leading the Big Red to its best season in more than a decade. Cornell finished the year with a 12-11 record overall and a mark of 8-6 in the Ivy League, tied with Harvard for third place in the conference standings. The eight Ivy League wins are the most for Cornell since the 2006 season, which was also the last time the Big Red finished in third place in the conference. The team posted a 9-1 record in Newman Arena, the most home wins in a season since 2006, and the best winning percentage since the 2005 squad was a perfect 12-0 in Ithaca. Under Vande Berg's guidance, Cornell lead the Ivy League in digs per set and ranked in the top half of the conference in opponent hitting percentage (second), assists (second), kills (second), blocks (third) and service aces (third).
 
McPeek earns her first All-Ivy accolade, becoming Cornell's first first-team selection since Megan Mushovic in 2008. The senior libero lead the Ivy League and currently ranks 32nd in the nation in digs per set (5.08). She posted four of the top 10 performances in the Ivy League this season for digs in a match, including the most digs in a three-set match (32 vs. Brown on Nov. 11) and the most digs in a four-set match (35 vs. Princeton on Oct. 13). Her 35 digs vs. the Tigers were a career-high and also good for 13th place in Cornell history for digs in a single match. For her efforts vs. Princeton, she became just the second libero since 2012 to earn Ivy League Player of the Week honors. McPeek finished the season ranked eighth in Cornell history for digs in a single season (447) and 10th overall for career digs (993). She posted double-digit digs in 21-of-23 matches and is one of just six Big Red players to ever average more than 5.00 digs per set, as her 5.08 digs per set rank fifth overall in Big Red history.
 
A first-time All-Ivy selection, Phelps took a big leap in her sophomore season to finish the year ranked first on the team and seventh in the Ivy League in hitting percentage (.307). She also led the conference and currently ranks 13th in the nation in service aces per set (0.47), while her 1.18 blocks per set were good for second overall in the Ancient Eight. Phelps finished the year ranked seventh in Cornell history for service aces per set in a single-season (0.47), 12th in attack percentage (.307), 15th in blocks per set (1.18), 19th in blocks assists (81), 19th in service aces (37) and 25th in total blocks (92). Twice during the season Phelps nearly broke a school record – coming within one ace of the Big Red record with seven at Brown on Oct. 6 and falling one block assist short of the Cornell mark with 14 vs. the Bears on Nov. 11.
 
McCarty picks up her second consecutive honorable mention accolade, becoming Cornell's first two-time honoree since Natasha Rowland (2013, 2014). The senior rightside hitter finished the year ranked third on the team in both kills per set (2.67) and hitting percentage (.252). McCarty posted double-digit kills in 12-of-23 matches, including half of Cornell's Ivy League contests, and registered a career-high 20 kills against LaSalle to help the team down the Explorers, 3-2. She finished her career ranked 11th in Cornell history for career kills (789); 14th in career points (882.5); 19th in career block assists (167).
  
2017 IVY LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
COACH OF THE YEAR
Trudy Vande Berg, Cornell 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Maggie O'Connell, Princeton (So., RS – Katy, Texas)
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kate Swanson, Yale (Jr., L – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
 
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Kathryn Attar, Yale (Fr., OH – Tampa, Fla.)
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-IVY
* Anja Malesevic, Columbia (Sr., RS – Belgrade, Serbia)
* Maggie O'Connell, Princeton (So., RS – Katy, Texas)
Kathryn Attar, Yale (Fr., OH – Tampa, Fla.)
Chichi Ikwuazom, Columbia (So., MB – New York, N.Y.)
Christina Cornelius, Harvard (Jr., MB – Los Angeles, Calif.)
Kiley McPeek, Cornell (Sr., L – Deer Park, Ill.)
Kate Swanson, Yale (Jr., L – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.)
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-IVY^
Grace Roberts-Burbank, Harvard (So., OH – San Francisco, Calif.)
Parker Jones, Penn (Fr., OH – Lafayette, Calif.)
Tristin Kott, Yale (So., OH – Winter Park, Fla.)
Jenna Phelps, Cornell (So., MB – Bucyrus, Kan.)
Caroline Sklaver, Princeton (Jr., MB – Miami Beach, Fla.)
Nnenna Ibe, Princeton (Jr., MB – North Brunswick, N.J.)
Jessie Harris, Princeton (So., S – Newport Beach, Calif.)
Franny Arnautou, Yale (So., S – San Francisco, Calif.)
 
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-IVY
Kit McCarty, Cornell (Sr., RS – Hudson, Ohio)
Devon Peterkin, Princeton (So., OH – San Diego, Calif.)
Kelley Wirth, Yale (Jr., OH – Moraga, Calif.)
Maclaine Fields, Harvard (So., MB – Alamo, Calif.)
Tori Dozier, Dartmouth (So., S – Raleigh, N.C.)
Sydney Morton, Penn (Sr., S – Atlanta, Ga.)
Melissa Cairo, Brown (Sr., L – Hillsborough, Calif.)
 
*Unanimous Selection
^Second Team Expanded Due To Tie In Voting