WAYNESBURG — For someone who tends to shy away from individual accolades, Laurie Lindner has taken home her share of hardware.

The 2005 Seneca Valley graduate and senior outside hitter at Waynesburg University recently was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Volleyball Most Valuable Player.

Lindner's senior season included a team-leading 399 kills, 412 digs, 37 blocks and 26 service aces.

That effort helped the Yellow Jackets reach the PAC semifinals.

Lindner ended her collegiate career with a school-record 1,537 kills.

"She's great to work with," said Yellow Jackets coach Stephanie Benkowski. "She only wants to help the team win and doesn't like to be recognized individually."

Lindner tasted success before arriving at the Greene County school.

Her senior season at Seneca Valley included a WPIAL Class AAA championship and the Raiders made the PIAA final eight in 2004.

Lindner earned second-team honors at both the WPIAL and section level that season.

Mike Bruno was the head coach at Waynesburg at the time. Though he would be replaced by Benkowski by the fall of 2005, he succeeded in making Lindner a part of his last recruiting class at the school.

"He sold me on the school," said Lindner. "I really liked the atmosphere and small campus."

Lindner stepped into Waynesburg's starting lineup as a 17-year-old freshman and made an immediate impact.

Though her 18th birthday didn't come until 10 matches into Waynesburg's 2005 season, she tallied a career-high 402 kills, 223 digs and 41 blocks while helping the Yellow Jackets to an 11-1 conference record and 21-13 overall.

"I think other teams didn't expect me to do much as a freshman," said Lindner, who stands 5-feet-7. "There was an element of surprise with how hard I could hit the ball."

Lindner was awarded PAC Freshman of the Year honors and she was on her way to a great career.

"She's been a captain since her sophomore year and has definitely met all the expectations we had for her," said Benkowski.

"Both awards (2005 Freshman of Year and 2008 MVP) were completely unexpected," said Lindner. "I wouldn't have those awards if it weren't for my teammates."

Lindner earned All-PAC honors all four years with the Yellow Jackets.

"I'm happy with the individual awards," she said. "But they wouldn't mean anything without the friendships I've made from being on the team."

Lindner was late arriving to the sport.

"I played soccer throughout my childhood and didn't play volleyball competitively until my 10th-grade year," she said. "I think I had played soccer for so long and I was ready for something else.

"I love the game of volleyball and have put in a lot of hard work."

Lindner has a double major in sports management and exercise science and will graduate in the spring.