Steele, Wharton Voted to Patriot League Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team
8/12/2015 10:56:00 AM | Volleyball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Former Bucknell volleyball standouts and teammates Katie Steele '96 and Melissa Wharton '98 were honored with spots on the Patriot League 25th Anniversary Team. The 25-player squad was released by the conference on Wednesday.
Nearly two decades after her final season at Bucknell, Steele still ranks in the top 10 in Patriot League history in hitting percentage (7th, .322), aces (9th, 192), and blocks (4th, 497). She was a four-time selection to the All-Patriot League Team and led the Bison to the conference championship game as a senior. She led the biggest turnaround in program history, leading a team that had gone 45-186 in the eight seasons prior to her arrival on campus to a 63-35 mark in her final three seasons.
Steele left Bucknell as the career record holder in hitting percentage, aces, solo blocks and total blocks, while also succeeding in the classroom during her time on campus. She was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team during her final season. She is also one of just five players in program history to earn Patriot League Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Steele was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 2007.
Wharton came to Bucknell during Steele's junior season, giving the squad two of the best players in program history on the same team. Wharton went on to earn three First Team All-Patriot League honors and received the Christy Mathewson Award as the top senior athlete in her class. She graduated with 10 school records and remains as the only Bison player to hit .400 during a season, doing so three times.
Wharton led Bucknell to a four-year stretch of winning that has gone unmatched by the program in the 17 years since she graduated. The Bison went 83-40 overall and 19-6 in the Patriot League with her on the roster, including a 15-3 mark against conference opponents in her final three seasons. She guided the team to the Patriot League title game twice and is still the league's career record holder in hitting percentage (.400). She also holds three of the top four marks in single-season hitting percentage, including a league record .445 in 1995, and is the career record holder with 631 blocks. Wharton was inducted into the Bucknell Hall of Fame in 2009.
The 25th Anniversary Team members are listed below by school, with seasons representing the athlete's years of competition in the Patriot League. Each school that participates in volleyball selected 25 players in the voting for the 25th Anniversary Team, and could not vote for its own student-athletes.
American: Karla Kucerkova (2001-03); Rubena Sukaj (2005-08); Monika Smidova (2011-present); Cutrina Biddulph (2002-05); Christina Nash (2005-08)
Army West Point: Ariana Mankus (2009-12); Maureen Bannon (2006-09); Caitlin Machon (2000-04); Deanna Machlan (1992-95); Abby Casciato (2002-05)
Bucknell: Melissa Wharton (1994-97); Katie Steele (1992-95)
Colgate: Vicky Chun (1990-91); Julia Civardi (1993-96); Becca Galves (1990-93); Autumn McKenzie (1993-96); Judy Culhane (1996-99); Katrina Zawojski (2005-08); Jackie Adlam (2005-08)
Holy Cross: Megan Lynch (2009-12)
Lehigh: Kim Freedman (1995-98); Rochelle Healea (1999-02)
Navy: Katherine Schullian (1991-94); Rachel Shropa (1996-99); Jen Williams (1996-99)