Swetz, Tale and Barnish win PSUAC awards

The Penn State Fayette volleyball team won its second straight Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference title Tuesday, and the team is bringing home even more hardware.

Head coach Sam Swetz was named PSUAC Coach of the Year, senior Siteri Tale (Uniontown/Laurel Highlands HS) was named First Team All-PSUAC West and sophomore Jadyn Barnish (Carmichaels, Carmichaels HS) was named PSUAC West honorable mention.

 Tale's honor adds another accolade to her long list which include four honors from the 2018 season: PSUAC Player of the Year, First team PSUAC West, United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Player of the Year and USCAA First Team All American.

"Being named PSUAC first team and winning another conference crown is such an honor," Tale said. "This season, the team has worked so hard in and out of practice to get where we are today.  With this being my senior year, I was highly motivated throughout the season on being the best team in the PSUAC and the USCAA.  We won the conference, and now Nationals, here we come!"

Barnish spoke of her award.

"It is such an honor to be recognized alongside my teammates," she said. "I wouldn't be where I am without them.  I have been working super hard and it feels amazing to be noticed.  I would like to thank my coaches and teammates for continuing to push and encourage me to be at my best."

The honorable mention award follows Barnish's honor a year ago of being the PSUAC Newcomer of the Year.

Swetz spoke about the awards and started with her players.

"I am so proud of Siteri and all that she has accomplished throughout her collegiate career," Swetz said of the 2018 United States Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year. "This was just icing on the cake and she is such a positive role model."

Swetz turned her attention to Barnish.

"Jadyn did a great job of adjusting to a 6-2 offense this year," Swetz said. "I am very proud of her for completely adjusting and excelling at it."

Swetz said her assistants deserve to be honored and should share in her award.

"Janelle (Cooper) and Anna (Tale) are fantastic assistants," she said. "It's great how we can be looking at three different things during a play to help correct everything."

Swetz also mentioned what the award means to her.

"It truly means a lot this year because it is great to know that we created this team and have watched it grow," she said. "But really, it is as much about Janelle and Anna as a group because without them, I am nothing."

Next up for Fayette is the United States Collegiate Athletic Association bid selection show on Thursday.

For more information on the volleyball team, go to https://www.psfathletics.com/sports/wvball/index.