Story by Todd Moore, KJCCC SID Volleyball Committee Chairperson

Nominated and voted upon by league coaches, the 2022 Division I Volleyball post-season selections feature Seyun Park of Seward County and Taniya Golden of Hutchinson earning the Most Valuable Player and Freshman of the Year respectively, and Seward County's Geno Frugoli as Coach of the Year.

Coach of the Year
Geno Frugoli is named the 2022 Coach of The Year after leading Seward County to the KJCCC Co-Conference regular season title. Finishing third in the conference standings last season, Frugoli’s strong core of eleven returning sophomores were on a mission for the title, completing the slate with a 14-2 conference record and 30-6 overall record to earn his second coaching award in his three seasons leading the Lady Saints program. This past weekend the 14th ranked Lady Saints captured the Region VI and Plains District Championship in defeating 13th ranked Butler Community College in the title match 3-1 to receive the district’s automatic bid for the 2022 NJCAA National Tournament in West Plains, Missouri.

Most Valuable Player
Seward County’s Seyun Park is named the Most Valuable Player for her outstanding performance all season for the 14th ranked Lady Saints. The middle hitter from Anyang, South Korea Park, ranks fourth in NJCAA hitting percentage at .373 in averaging 2.91 kills per set. This past weekend the two-time conference player of the week recorded a career-high 20 kills in the Region VI Championship match helping the Lady Saints win the Region VI and Plains District Championship. During the Region VI tournament, Park had 44 kills and a .500 hitting percentage to help Seward County get back to the NJCAA National Tournament for the first time since 2019. A third-year sophomore due to Covid year exemptions, Park is a three-time first-team all-conference member for the first time in school history.

Freshman of the Year
Taniya Golden becomes the first Blue Dragon player to be named Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year since Paige Hiebert in 2016. The 6-foot freshman outside hitter from Omaha, Nebraska, asserted herself as one of top offensive options from the start, having a collegiate 13 kill debut against Indian Hills, then followed with 12 kills in an upset of No. 3 Missouri State-West Plains on opening weekend.  Down the stretch, Golden was the Blue Dragons’ go-to hitter with double-figure kills in 14 of her last 16 matches, including a career-high 26 kills in a Region VI semifinal loss on Friday. Fourth in the KJCCC 416 total kills, Golden etched her name in the program record book as the second most by a freshman and 11th most in single-season history.  On the season Golden hit .231 on 1,074 attacks, averaged 3.13 kills per set, and posted four double-doubles in the final third of the season. Golden had 24 matches with 10 or more kills, hit the 20-kill mark twice, and completed her freshman resume having season highs of 5 blocks and 16 digs.

Complete list of 2022-23 Awards Selections