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Editor's note: For the first time this fall, the Muscatine Journal sports department is unveiling an all-area team for volleyball and football.

The schools included in the Journal’s coverage area are Muscatine, Columbus Community, Durant-Bennett, Louisa-Muscatine, Wapello, West Liberty and Wilton.

Selections were based on input from each head coach, all-conference honors, individual statistics, team success and observations from the Journal’s sports staff.

Muscatine (29-7) and Durant (35-6) each had three representatives, while Wilton and West Liberty each had two. The Wildcats reached the Class 2A regional final before falling to Camanche in four games.

Muscatine’s Haylie Franklin, a four-sport athlete and Division I volleyball recruit, was selected as the area’s top player.

See next Thursday’s edition for our first all-area football team. The Journal will profile an offensive player of the year and a defensive player of the year.

All-area volleyball teams

First team

Name School Yr. Pos.

Haylie Franklin Muscatine sr. MH

Julissa Galvan West Liberty sr. Libero

Carlee Grunder Wilton jr. S

Makenzie Meyer Durant sr. MH

Renee Telsrow Durant sr. OH

Jordan Walgren Muscatine sr. Libero

Second team

Shelby Broders Wilton jr. MH

Brooke Hammond Wapello sr. OH

Emily Hasken Muscatine sr. MH

Kelsey Lyon Columbus sr. MH

Shelby Paustian Durant sr. OH

Hannah Vance West Liberty jr. OH

First team

Julissa Galvan

West Liberty, libero

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 300 digs, 92 percent serving with 54 aces

- Record: 14-11

- Other activities: Track and field, soccer, softball, student council and NCYL.

- Head coach Ruben Galvan on Galvan: “I think that she, having to switch positions from setter to libero, did a good job. We needed a leader in the back row on a regular basis and she provided that for us. It was the first time she had to fill this role because she’d always been the underclassman. I think the girls responded and we had good team chemistry.”

Carlee Grunder

Wilton, setter

- Year: Junior

- 2009 statistical line: 498 assists (5.35 per game), 49 kills (0.5 per game), .179 hitting percentage, 157 digs (1.7 per game), 220 of 251 serving (87.6 percent), 43 aces.

- Record: 12-21

- Other activities: Basketball, golf, softball, journalism, NYS youth group and student council.

- Head coach Andrea Putman on Grunder: “She is the leader of the team. She’s the most knowledgeable of the sport and she runs the show. The leadership falls to her, and she does a good job at that.”

Makenzie Meyer

Durant-Bennett, middle hitter

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 207 kills (2.65 per game), .355 hitting efficiency, 70 digs (0.9 per game), 39 blocks (0.5 per game), 289 of 306 serving (94.4 percentage), 40 aces.

- Record: 35-6

- Other activities: Basketball, softball, choir, golf and club volleyball

- Head coach John Walsh on Meyer: “Makenzie finished her third year as a varsity starter as one of our go-to players at the net. She frequently kept opponents guessing, mixing up her attacks well. She could pound a thundering kill on one play and tip it away from the defense on the next.”

Renee Telsrow

Durant-Bennett, outside hitter

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 324 kills (3.64 per game), .337 hitting percentage, 138 digs (1.55 per game), 37 blocks (0.4 per game), 221 of 238 serving (92.9 percent), 40 aces.

- Record: 35-6

- Other activities: Basketball, softball, 4-H, choir, Play crew and club volleyball

- Head coach John Walsh on Telsrow: “Renee provided a big benefit to our team with her increase in productivity over last year. She substantially increased her kills per game and kill efficiency. She was also able to effectively use a variety of shots this year. She was one of our strongest servers as well, among the team leader in aces and serving percentage.”

Jordan Walgren

Muscatine, libero

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 33 kills (0.3 per game), 555 digs (5.5 per game), 235 of 269 serving (87.3 percent), 27 aces.

- Record: 29-7

- Other activities: Basketball, soccer

- Head coach Laura Proffitt on Walgren: “Jordan was a very positive influence on the rest of the team, a real leader. She knows the game, knows the positioning, and she reads hitters very well. The key to a good libero is being scrappy and hustling after every single ball. That absolutely describes Jordan.”

Second team

Shelby Broders

Wilton, middle hitter

- Year: Junior

- 2009 statistical line: 246 kills (2.65 per game), .251 hitting efficiency, 123 digs (1.3 per game), 65 blocks (0.7 per game), 279 of 301 serving (92.7 percent), 49 aces.

- Record: 12-21

- Other activities: Softball, track and field, high school choir, class secretary, National Honor Society

- Head coach Andrea Putman on Broders: “She really started to come on in the mid- to late-part of the season. She’s quite a good hitter and a good blocker. I’m really excited to have her back next year.”

Brooke Hammond

Wapello, outside hitter

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 202 kills (2.4 per game), .330 hitting efficiency, 99 digs (1.2 per game), 268 of 279 serving (96 percent), 24 aces.

- Record: 17-17

- Other activities: Softball, track and field

- Head coach Ken Spielbauer on Hammond: “She led the team in kills this year and had a high serving percentage for three years. She played on a young team and helped them out a lot. As a player, she improved on her hitting ability as the year went on. She was a setter and we changed to a 6-2 and that helped her hitting.”

Emily Hasken

Muscatine, middle hitter

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 245 kills (2.45 per game), .263 hitting efficiency, 94 digs, 46 blocks, 420 of 454 serving (92.5 percent), 57 aces.

- Record: 29-7

- Other activities: Tennis

- Head coach Laura Proffitt on Hasken: “Emily really grew a lot from last season to this season. She went from getting very little varsity time to a full-time player.  I’m very happy the way she came along this season. She had a great year.”

Kelsey Lyon

Columbus, middle hitter

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 186 kills (2.0 per game), .247 hitting efficiency, 503 digs (5.4 per game), 102 blocks (1.1 per game), 227 of 270 serving (84 percent), 58 aces.

- Record: 8-27

- Other activities: Track, basketball, plays on the Cedar Rapids Rockets club volleyball team

- Head coach Lori Beenen on Lyon: “Kelsey is very intense. She loves the game of volleyball, she lives to play it. You can see it when she walks into the gym. Whenever you mention it, she grins from ear to ear. She’s very coachable and always wants to improve her game.”

Shelby Paustian

Durant-Bennett, outside hitter

- Year: Senior

- 2009 statistical line: 206 kills (2.29 per game), .183 hitting efficiency, 313 digs (3.5 per game), 11 blocks, 274 of 326 serving (84 percent), 55 aces.

- Record: 35-6

- Other activities: Softball, basketball, National Honor Society, student council, track and field, choir and club volleyball.

- Head coach John Walsh on Paustian: “Shelby was another player who really improved on her numbers from last season. … She has been one of our best defensive players for three seasons. With her improved hitting, she was a very strong all-around player, always there to make the smart play.”

Hannah Vance

West Liberty, outside hitter

- Year: Junior

- 2009 statistical line: 230 kills, 80 digs, 90 percent serving

- Record: 14-11

- Other activities: Track and field, basketball, softball and National Honor Society.

- Head coach Ruben Galvan on Vance: “She was one of our surprises this year. We needed some girls to step up to the plate and she did so. For not playing varsity last year, she gained confidence at the JV level and did some good things for us this year.”