(Posted July 5, 2010)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College assistant athletic director and sports information director Pete Lefresne has been selected as a recipient of the 2009-10 AVCA Grant Burger Award for NCAA Division III women's volleyball's Mid-Atlantic Region. Lefresne was one of eight regional honorees in Division III women's volleyball.

Lefresne, who recently completed his third year at Juniata, handles all publicity for football, men's volleyball, women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's tennis, and softball at Juniata, in addition to women's volleyball.

His work with women's volleyball over the course of the 2009 campaign helped bring some of the media spotlight to the Eagles, during a season in which they reached the national championship match and finished with a 36-4 record.

"This award is a testament to Pete's abilities as a sports information professional, and his grasp of volleyball in particular," said Larry Bock, Juniata's athletics director and head women's volleyball coach. "It is gratifying that the AVCA recognizes how talented, dedicated, and productive he has become in covering Juniata volleyball at the highest level."

Two members of Juniata women's volleyball earned AVCA All-America honors, while four athletes received AVCA Regional honors - including Regional Freshman of the Year Kelsey Fuller (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion). Two student-athletes were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and six athletes received All-Landmark Conference honors.

The 2009 season saw Juniata women's volleyball offer 'live stats' on the web for all home matches for the first time, with video recaps from Assistant Sports Information Director Dan Lauletta following most home events. Lefresne served as host sports information director for both the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Mid-Atlantic Regionals at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center; he also supervised event management and operations for all Juniata home athletic events during 2009-10, including the NCAA Regional.

"This is one of those awards that, as much as anything, reflects a great team effort," said Lefresne. "I had some great people working with me in assistant SID Dan Lauletta and women's volleyball event manager Jeremy Price, a great crew of part-time help in Pam Mansell and Brittany Carr, not to mention the best student Sports Information staff around. They were responsible for much of the hard work and heavy lifting, and they deserve a great deal of the credit for what we've achieved in this office."

The AVCA's Grant Burger Media Award recognizes members of the media who have been involved in the advancement of the sport of volleyball, whether it is through consistent coverage in all mediums (sports information, print, broadcasting, and web content), production of volleyball-specific publications, or extensive radio and/or television exposure.

The award is named in honor of Grant Burger, former Director of Sports Information and Associate Director of the AVCA (1988-92), whose hard work, innovative mind, knowledge and enthusiasm took the areas of media relations and publications at the AVCA to a higher level and increased awareness of the sport of volleyball nationwide.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.