National Honors for Gehlke, Bown

Two former Orange County athletes were selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Assn. College All-American team this week.

Roberta Gehlke of UC Santa Barbara and Heather Bown of Hawaii are among 12 players on the first team. Gehlke played at Mater Dei and Bown at Esperanza High.

Sophomore Cheryl Weaver of Long Beach State, who played at Sidwell Friends Prep School in Washington, D.C., also was a first-team selection.

Gehlke finished with a UCSB career-record 2,153 kills, the second-best total in the history of the Big West Conference. She also set a school record for kills in a match with 38 against Long Beach State this season.

Gehlke, who averaged 5.35 kills and 4.07 digs this season, also became the school’s career leader in digs with 1,619. She ranked seventh nationally in kills.

Bown led the nation in blocks per game with a 2.25 average, which set school and Western Athletic Conference records. She averaged 4.03 kills, 1.64 digs and had a 36.4 hitting percentage.

Another former county volleyball player, Kelly Campbell of Colorado, was selected to the GTE Academic All-American team this week.

Campbell, who played at Corona del Mar, has a 3.70 grade-point average in communications. She also was selected to the District VII all-star team selected by the Volleyball Coaches Assn.

NOTEWORTHY

Cal State Dominguez Hills soccer player Jennifer Uriarte (Dana Hills High) was selected to the National Soccer Coaches Assn. Division II Far West regional second team.

Pepperdine sophomore setter Melissa Plass (Fountain Valley High) was selected to the All-West Coast Conference volleyball first team. She ranked fourth in the conference in assists (12.87 average) and sixth in hitting percentage (32.5%).

Sophomore Anna Lembke (Ocean View High) has earned a starting forward spot on the Pepperdine women’s basketball team. She is averaging 8.7 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Cal State Bakersfield swimmer Lauren Preston, a freshman who competed for Rosary High, has a time of 4:36.82 in the 400 individual medley, which ranks seventh in NCAA Division II this season. Another Cal State Bakersfield swimmer, Luke Mansfield (Sonora High), has the top time this season in the 50 freestyle (21.46) for the men’s team.