Tusculum College ranked among final NCAA Division II stat leaders, Dean leads in digs per set

INDIANAPOLIS --- Tusculum College freshman libero/defensive specialist Caitlyn Dean is the NCAA Division II women's volleyball statistical champion in digs per set while freshman setter Ashley Sarmiento and sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Raterman were also ranked among the leaders in the final 2010 Division II statistics report, the NCAA has announced.

Dean, a 5-5 native of Fort Wayne, Ind., averaged 7.10 digs per set to set a new school and South Atlantic Conference record and rank third all-time among Division II players. Sarmiento, a 5-11 native of Dayton, Ohio, averaged 10.39 assists per set to rank 31st among all Division II players while Raterman, a 6-1 native of Urbana, Ohio, was 36th in the nation with a .350 hitting percentage.

As a team, the Pioneers ranked second overall in digs per set with 20.02 and 49th in kills per set at 13.04. Overall, the Pioneers finished with a 25-7 record to rank 27th among 263 Division II programs with a winning percentage of .781.

Dean, a 2010 Daktronics NCAA Division II First-Team All-American, posted one of the best defensive performances in NCAA II history. Her 845 digs this season are a new NCAA Division II record, and the Daktronics All-Southeast Region First-Team honoree accounted for an amazing 13 matches with 30-plus digs. Previously, she was named to the All-SAC First Team, the SAC All-Freshman Team, SAC All-Tournament Team and was named SAC Specialist of the Week on two occasions. She was also named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Southeast Region Team.

Sarmiento was named Freshman of the Year for both the AVCA Division II Southeast Region and the SAC and was a member of both the AVCA and the Daktronics All-Southeast Region teams. She led the team with 14 double-doubles and accounted for 1,256 assists, which are the fourth most in school history, while her assist average is also fourth best by a Pioneer.  She was also named to the SAC All-Tournament Team and was twice named SAC Specialist of the Week.

Raterman, a Daktronics All-Southeast Region honorable mention selection, finished with the second-highest attack percentage in program history en route to earning All-SAC First Team honors this season as she finished second in the conference with her .350 hitting percentage. Raterman averaged 2.03 kills and 0.47 blocks per set and was also named the SAC Player of the Week earlier this season.

Tusculum's team average of 20.02 digs per set just missed leading all of Division II, trailing only Hawaii Pacific which won the statistical championship with an average of 20.33 digs per set.

In addition to its 25-7 overall record, Tusculum finished 16-2 in SAC play to finish second in the conference. The 16 league wins are the most in school history as a South Atlantic Conference member (since 1999) as Tusculum advanced to the SAC Tournament Championship match for the first time in school history. TC also earned the program its second straight NCAA Tournament at-large berth.