Hall of Honor HomepageCamp Hill, PA – Messiah College Athletics hosted their annual Hall of Honor induction banquet on Friday, Feb. 6, and welcomed three new members to the exclusive group: Karen (Sollenberger) Ackley '03, Matt Bills '04, and Andy Vogel '03.
Over 100 guests gathered at the West Shore Country Club to honor the three inductees.
"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate these three individuals," Messiah Director of Athletics
Jack Cole said. "Each year we're honored ourselves to recognize the outstanding student-athletes that have come through Messiah College. This year we had another fanastic group."
As has become the tradition, the induction evening also included the recognition of this year's Senior Scholar-Athletes for Messiah College. The honor celebrates a standout male and female student-athlete from each the fall, winter, and spring seasons. At the conclusion of the 2014 spring season, a single male and female winner will be chosen from among finalists.
Both the Hall of Honor inductions and the Senior Scholar-Athlete recognitions are made possible through the
Falcon Athletic Network (FAN).
"The Falcon Athletic Network has been a growing, special piece of Messiah College Athletics," Cole said. "Our alumni and community supporters care deeply about the experience of our student-athletes, and we're thankful for the opportunity celebrate both our athletic and academic achievements. The FAN has allowed this to happen."
The Scholar-Athlete finalists were recognized by Messiah's Vice Provost and Dean of Students, Dr. Kris Hansen-Kieffer. Information on the finalists can be found
here.
After both the Scholar-Athlete recognition and dinner, each inductee was introduced and welcome to the podium to speak on their experiences as a Messiah student-athlete. As has been the case for every other Hall of Honor member, each inductee also made it clear how their experiences as a Falcon did much to shape their lives to this day.
"Our coaches, administrators, and support staff want to build relationships with our student-athletes that leave a lasting impact," Assistant Athletics Director
Steve King said. "It is really special whenever we have the opportunity to hear and see the fruit of that effort. Tonight's inductees reinforced why Messiah College is a special place."
A brief bio on each inductee is below, with a photo gallery of the weekend at the bottom.
Karen (Sollenberger) Ackley '03 – Women's Volleyball Sollenberger was a four-time All-Conference setter for the Falcons, and the 1998 conference Rookie of the Year. She is still first all-time for Messiah in career assists (4,318) and holds both the first (1,385) and third (1,115) spots for most assists in a single-season. Sollenberger is also the Falcons' career leader in service aces (542), more than double the next closest person (245). Her four seasons are good for first (157), second (148), fourth (134), and fifth (103) in Messiah's single-season service aces records.
Sollenberger was the 1999 ace serve champion for all of the NCAA, and she also registered the only quadruple-double for any women's volleyball player in the 2000 season: 10 kills, 31 assists, 10 aces, and 13 digs (Oct. 7, 2000 against Allentown [DeSales] University).
Matt Bills '04 – Men's Soccer Bills was a three-time All-Commonwealth player for the Falcons, and was the Commonwealth Player of the Year in both 2002 and 2003. In each of those two seasons he was also First Team NSCAA All-Region and in 2002 was a Third Team All-American.
Bills was a member of both the 2000 and 2002 NCAA Division III National Championship teams, and is tied-first all-time in program history with 68 goals; Bills is tied atop the goals scored leaderboard with fellow Hall of Honor member Todd Suessmuth '90.
Andy Vogel '03 – Wrestling Vogel was a three-time All-Conference and All-American wrestler for the Falcons. He was the National Runner-Up in the 149 lb. weight class in 2001, and took seventh in both 2002 and 2003. He is currently one of only three Falcons ever with three different NCAA All-American finishes (Chris Roggie '00, Mike Helm '00).
Vogel is the Falcons' all-time wins leader with 157 victories. He is also the career leader nearfalls (190), and holds the second (132) and third (121) spots for single-season takedowns and first (61), second (59), and fourth (50) spots for single-season nearfalls, respectively. In his senior season he was named a Capital One Academic All-American and also received a Division III Postgraduate Scholarship.
Click on the gallery to see highest resolution!
