ATLANTA (April 23, 2024) – The Atlantic Sun Conference announced their 2024 postseason awards Wednesday, highlighted by two first team All-ASUN pairs and UNA head coach Kaleb VanDePerre earning ASUN Coach of the Year.
Graduates
Paula Klemperer and
Taylor Seney earned their second-straight ASUN first team selection, while junior
Katy Floyd and sophomore
Selma Robinson win their first career postseason honors. VanDePerre also earns his first conference postseason award in his second season at UNA.
UNA Beach Volleyball continues to add to its postseason collection after four Lions were announced as Academic All-ASUN selections earlier today. Klemperer and Seney received their second postseason honors.
UNA's seven total awards sets a new program record for the most in one season.
VanDePerre earns the first Coach of the Year honor in North Alabama's young Division I history. This also marks the first postseason Coach of the Year award since softball's Ashley Cozart won Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year in 2018.
VanDePerre led the Lions to a 20-11 regular-season record with a 5-3 record in the ASUN. Vandeperre tied his own record for program wins in a season, with a chance to surpass the mark against EKU this week in the ASUN Championship Tournament.
The second-year coach oversaw UNA's first two Power Five wins in victories over Oregon and Nebraska on Feb. 24 and March 2, respectively. He also led North Alabama to their first ranked win in program history in victory over No. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 6.
Seney and Klemperer finished the regular season at 20-9, with all matches coming from the first flight. Seney and Klemperer began the season with six-straight wins, setting a program record with 16 consecutive wins dating back to April 8, 2023. Their early run of form also earned the ASUN's first two Pair of the Week awards on Feb. 28 and March 6, adding a third on April 17.
Klemperer and Seney were ranked in the AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com pair rankings poll earlier this season, ranking as high as third from flight one.
The pair finished with three ranked wins against the top flights of No. 7 LSU, No. 16 FAU and No. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and the pair were victorious in UNA's first two Power Five wins in program history against Nebraska and Oregon. Klemperer celebrated a career milestone with Seney, earning her 75th career win in the victory over FAU on April 6.
Floyd and Robinson head into the postseason with a 24-6 record, playing primarily as UNA's second flight. They went 22-6 from flight two while finishing 2-0 from the top flight, leading the Lions in victories on the season. The two set the program record for pair wins in a season, surpassing the 23 won by teammates Klemperer and Seney in 2023.
Floyd and Robinson went on streaks of seven or more wins twice, winning seven from Feb. 23 – March 3 and 10 from March 8-23. The two were instrumental in UNA's first two Power Five wins, winning both matches from flight two over Oregon and Nebraska. They also had two ranked wins in second-flight wins against No. 16 FAU and No. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The pairs' play was recognized on a national level, spending time as the top-ranked pair from flight two in the April 2 edition of the AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com pair rankings. Floyd was also recognized as a top five individual player, ranking fifth in the April 2 AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com player rankings.
FGCU won the other two superlatives outside of Coach of the Year, including Shelby Beisner and Trinity Rosales winning Pair of the Year. FGCU's Emma Soncrant was announced as Freshman of the Year.
Click here for the full awards list.
Beach Volleyball begins the postseason on Wednesday, April 24, in DeLand, Fla., facing No. 5 EKU in the opening round at 10 a.m. on ESPN+.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
