Danilynn Schell of Kelly Walsh Selected WY Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year Again

For the second consecutive year, Kelly Walsh standout Danilynn Schell has been named the Wyoming Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year.

Schell was announced the winner on Monday and is the fifth Trojans player to be selected for the honor. The 5-10 senior setter and right-side hitter led Kelly Walsh to a 35-1 overall record and their third straight Class 4A State Championship. Schell finished with 528 assists, 255 kills, 190 digs, and 91 service aces. She was the Class 4A Player of the Year and is a four-time All-State and All-Conference selection.

The senior is headed to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay on a scholarship to play Division 1 volleyball for the Phoenix.

Schell maintains a 3.76 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered on behalf of the Metro Animal Control Center, the Salvation Army, and river clean-up initiatives in the Casper area.

Jackson head coach Tera Yantzi said, “Danilynn Schell is the most impressive all-around player in the state. Her hitting is strong and her setting is absolutely on point.”

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Schell as Wyoming’s best high school volleyball player. She is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award to be announced later this month.

Two-time winner joins Gatorade Wyoming Volleyball Players of the Year Madison Vinich (2017-18, Kelly Walsh High School), Kalina Smith (2016-17, Cambell County High School), Cosette Stellern (2015-16 & 2014-15, Cheyenne East High School) and Sydney Matheny (2013-14, Campbell County High School) among the state’s list of former award winners.

Schell also has an opportunity to award a grant of $1,000 to a local or national youth sports organization of her choice through Gatorade’s cause marketing platform “Play it Forward.” She is also eligible to submit an essay to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit www.Gatorade.com/POY, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

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