Sports briefs

VCU senior point guard Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover) has been named one of the John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 candidates for the second consecutive year. The reigning CAA Player of the Year averaged 17.9 points and 5.5 assists per game last season. Maynor also was tabbed as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year this season. Maynor will look to win the award over last year’s winner, Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina.

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Sophomore forward Myk Brown (Gainesville, Fla/PK Yonge High) will transfer at the end of the semester to finish his career. Brown, who played in 15 games last season, averaged 0.9 points and 0.7 rebounds. Brown said he felt he needed to go to a program where he could contribute more on the court

FIELD HOCKEY

Sophomore Marle van Dessel (Oisterwijk, The Netherlands/Odulphus Lyceum) was named second-team All-CAA at the league’s banquet this past weekend. Marle led the Rams in points (29), goals (12) and shots on goal (40) and was third in assists (5) during the 2008 season.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Sophomore Laurel Pastor (Springfield/West Springfield) was named first-team All-CAA, this past week, leading four Rams on all-conference teams. Pastor led VCU this season with 20 points, including nine goals and two assists. Seniors Stephanie Power (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia/Dartmouth), Samara Stephen-Dowd (Vienna/Oakton) and Megan Flanagan (Franktown, Colo./Ponderosa) were all named to the second team. Power and Flanagan both recorded five goals and nine assists while Stephen-Dowd scored a goal and handed out two assists.

VOLLEYBALL

The Rams improved to 9-3 in the CAA and 18-9 overall this past weekend with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-21) victory over UNC Wilmington and a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-15) defeat of Georgia State. Elisa Kuehnel (Dresden, Germany/Sportsgymnasium) led the Rams with 10 kills and eight digs against the Seahawks while Laryssa Goncalves (Curitiba, Brazil/Colegio Dom Bosco) had 17 digs. In the victory over the Panthers, Jessica Ojukwu (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Dourado) led four players with double-digit kills with 13 and Goncalves added 16 digs.