December 2, 2022

Barbara Koehler earns DI Women's Volleyball Player of the Year

Charlotte, NC – The 2022 NJCAA DI Volleyball Player of the Year is Florida SouthWestern outside hitter Barbara Koehler.

Koehler is awarded this prestigious honor after helping lead her team to a 2022 NJCAA DI Women's Volleyball National Title. Koehler was named Most Valuable Player of the 2022 NJCAA DI Volleyball Championship tournament after totaling 46 kills, 10 service aces, 37 digs and a .290 hitting percentage across four matches. In the national championship game alone, Koehler led the team with 12 kills and 15 digs as well as scoring 14.5 solo points.

Assistant Coach Megan Besecker on Koehler- "Barbara is one of the hardest working athletes I have ever coached.  She sets a high bar for herself and is willing to put in the work every day to reach that level.  She is not just a great player but a great leader and teammate as well."

Koehler finished her sophomore season at Florida SouthWestern with an impressive stat line of 314 kills, 225 digs, 45 service aces, and 385 points. With 3.74 kills per set this season, Koehler earned the Florida SouthWestern record for all-time highest kills per set in a single season.

As her career with Florida SouthWestern comes to an end, Koehler is exiting with 590 kills, 462 digs, 78 service aces, and 724.5 solo points across two seasons. With these numbers, Barara Koehler now holds the Buccaneers' record for all-time highest kills and all-time highest aces.

Head Coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen on Koehler- "Barbara embodies everything we strive for our student-athletes to have in our program. She is a great student, a dedicated and talented athlete, and is fantastic with our fans and our community.  We are so proud of her.  She came to our program as a good player a year ago and worked extremely hard in training, in the weight room, and in preparation to become the great player that she is today.  She showcased her leadership skills through a difficult year for our program with the long-lasting effects of the devastating Hurricane on our area and constantly showed the quality of person that she is in the process.  I am so happy for her earning this award and am blessed to have been able to coach her the past two seasons."

Although she is undecided on where to further her education and volleyball career, Koehler has gained interest from several NCAA Division I programs including UNLV, Virginia Tech, Buffalo, Florida Atlantic, and North Alabama.

Personal

Position: Outside Hitter

Height: 6'0"

Class: Sophomore

Hometown: Mato Grosso, Brazil

2022 Statistics

314 kills

3.74 kills per set

0.48 blocks per set

225 digs

2.68 digs per set

0.324 hitting percentage