Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.), an alternate for both the 2004 and 2008 U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball teams, has been selected as a one of 12 semifinalists for the 79th Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Sullivan Award.

The AAU James E. Sullivan Award is based on the qualities of leadership, character and   sportsmanship. The award goes far beyond athletic accomplishment and honors those who have leadership skills and strong character which is evident in the nominee's lifestyle as a whole.

"I'm extremely honored to even be on the same list as some of the other semifinalists for the award," Barboza said. "It's a very humbling experience to see my name next to such phenomenal athletes that I look up to!"

The Sullivan Award Reception and Presentation will take place April 15 at The New York Athletic Club in New York City. The night's activities start with an athlete autograph session at 5:30 p.m., followed by the dinner at 6:15 p.m. and the awards presentation at 7:15 p.m.

Barboza trained with the U.S. Women's National Team in 2008 in an attempt to make the Olympic Games roster. Despite just two starts, she averaged 3.14 points per set at the 2008 Pan American Cup, while holding a .304 hitting efficiency with 2.72 kills per set in the event. Barboza averaged 2.07 points in three exhibition matches against 2008 Olympic Games gold medalist Brazil last June, including a 13-point performance in a starting role on June 11. Barboza played in 23 sets during the 2008 FIVB World Grand Prix totaling 18 points with just two set starts.

Barboza started training with the U.S. Women's National Team in 2003 and has two Pan American Games bronze medals to her credit. She was the youngest member of the 2003 Pan American Games team that competed in Dominican Republic, then was a starter for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. Barboza was the only high school player invited to train for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. She went on to win the 2004 Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player for the second consecutive season while completing her prep career at Long Beach Wilson High School.

Barboza paced Stanford University to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship match for the last three consecutive years, only to lose to Penn State University in the final in 2007 and 2008 and Nebraska in 2006. She earned her third consecutive American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America First-Team honor in 2008. Barboza finished her career at Stanford ranked ninth in career kills (1,639), sixth in digs (1,241) and ninth in service aces (115).

Barboza's AAU experience includes the 2002 AAU/AVP Tour Champion U-18 Division while playing with Bree Peterson. She won the Under-17 Division of the 2004 AAU National Beach Volleyball Championship while playing with partner Stephanie Barry. Barboza teamed with U.S. Women's National Team training member and Stanford teammate Alix Klineman to place second in the Under-17 Division of the 2004 AAU/AVP Tour Championship.

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University head volleyball coach Matt Ginipro announced the addition of sophomore outside hitter Kelly Rhein on Wednesday. She will join the team for the fall season after playing one season at Virginia.

Head coach Ginipro said “We are very fortunate to have Kelly joining us this coming fall. I was excited to bring her to Virginia and even moreso to bring her to Appalachian. She is a fantastic athlete and a phenomenal person. Her experience at UVa and in the ACC will benefit the program greatly.”

Kelly Rhein (York, Pa./Virginia/York Catholic High School) is a 5-11 outside hitter who played in four matches as a freshman. She was a four-year letterwinner in both volleyball and basketball at York Catholic, where she set the school’s career kills record with 1,607. Rhein hit .486 as a senior and was named one of PrepVolleyball.com’s Top 250 Senior Aces in 2007. She was the captain of the 2008 state champion basketball squad and won three state championships on the hardwood. In December she was named one of York Catholic’s top-10 athletes in school history.

Her sister, Courtney Rhein, will be a freshman for ASU volleyball this fall.

Dorton named nation's premier prep volleyball player

It might be hard to believe that a player who's received nothing but praise would continue to get excited over more of the same. But for Delta senior Darcy Dorton and her swollen, black and blue ankle, she got a much-needed boost in morale Monday afternoon.

After spraining three different ligaments in her ankle on Jan. 25 during a club volleyball tournament in Chicago, Dorton got a phone call from her mother Monday afternoon confirming she had been chosen by PrepVolleyball.com as the Schelde National Player of the Year.

"I was fairly excited, I'd say," Dorton said with a laugh. "I was just laying on the couch when she called."

Having already raked in several All-American awards since the high school season concluded, Dorton said she was especially excited about Monday's announcement because it was the first time she had been individually highlighted as one of the nation's elite players.

"You never get tired of winning things like this," said Dorton, who was unsure as to when her ankle would be fully healed or when she'd return to the court for the Munciana 18 Samurai, her club volleyball team.

The 6-foot, 2-inch outside hitter, named The Star Press volleyball athlete of the year in the fall, won the award for more than her play as a member of Delta's volleyball team.

Citing her effort with Munciana, her role in captaining the U.S. Junior National team to a gold medal at the Continental Championships and her role in the Eagle's Class 3A state championship season, the Web site declared no player deserved the award more than Dorton.

"Has any prep senior accomplished more in the past 12 months than Darcy Dorton?" the Web site's story announcing the award said. "We think not."

It's the latest in a long list of accolades for the Eagle.

Dorton had already been named Gatorade's Indiana Player of the Year, an Under-Armour, Volleyball Magazine, MaxPreps and AVC All-American. And PrepVolleyball.com's release of the news on Monday said Dorton would "obviously also be a PrepVolleyball.com All-American."

The selection makes Dorton -- a Penn State University signee -- the first player from Indiana to win the Web site's highest individual honor since 2000, when the site's Owner/CEO John Tawa first handed out the award.

There are other national player of the year awards which overlooked Dorton.

MaxPreps picked Lauren Cook, a Nebraska prep star, as its top player. Both Gatorade and Volleyball Magazine selected Gina Mancuso, also a prep player from Nebraska and a teammate of Dorton on her junior national team, as their national award winner.

PrepVolleyball.com, however, justified its selection of Dorton by saying, "When contemplating the national player of the year, we are looking for that player who made the biggest impact on her team, her state and the nation. We believe Dorton is that player."

Dorton will join the Penn State program next year as a freshman.

The Nittany Lions won their third national title this fall with a 3-0 win over Stanford. Penn State -- which is currently on a Division-I record 64 consecutive match win streak -- also won national titles in 1999 and 2007.