May 07--A year after helping Loyola win its first NCAA volleyball title, junior Thomas Jaeschke has become the first Rambler to win the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I-II national player of the year award.
Jaeschke, from Wheaton Warrenville South, is also just the third player from outside the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to win the award in its 25-year history. The other two were from Penn State.
The 6-foot-6 outside hitter ranked fifth in the nation in kills per set and service aces per set.
The No. 3 seed Ramblers meet No. 2 UC-Irvine in Thursday's NCAA semifinals at Stanford.
No. 1 Lewis, whose coach, Dan Friend, won AVCA coach of the year, plays No. 6 Penn State in the other semifnal. The final is Saturday.
