Summer has come and gone, and with it another season to remember. After 16 events from Atlanta to Hermosa Beach and Houston to Chicago, the AVP honored its top 2009 performers in eight categories at its annual awards banquet last night in Manhattan Beach.

Geeter began the banquet by recapping the season and its ups and downs the way only he can. First-year AVP CEO Jason Hodell then addressed those in attendance before handing the mic back over to Geeter to get the awards underway.

Jen Snyder and Billy Allen became the evening's first big winners when they were named 2009 Paul Mitchell Hot Shots as voted on by fans at AVP.com. Then, based on votes cast by each gender's top 32 players, the rest of the winners were as follows:

Rookie of the Year

Male: Jonathan Acosta. Puerto Rico native and Newport Beach resident Acosta ranked 34th among all male players in 2009. He tied a career best by finishing ninth in Manhattan Beach and recorded 12 top-17 finishes in 13 events.

Female: Raquel Caulkins. Caulkins finished in the top 17 in each of her 11 AVP tournaments this season, taking ninth at Manhattan Beach and six 13-place showings. The Brazil-born Huntington Beach resident had only competed in one previous AVP event, taking 41st at Hermosa Beach in 2006.

Most Improved Player

Male: John Mayer. Mayer won his first career title in San Diego and finished as the ninth-ranked male, twice as good as his No. 18 ranking in 2008. He finished in the top five 12 times after cracking the top five only six times prior to 2009.

Female: Priscilla Lima and Lisa Rutledge. A mid-season partner change worked wonders for Lima, who advanced to the first four semifinals of her career after teaming up with Tatiana Minello. The Brazilian has come a long way since she started playing volleyball at age 15.

Rutledge, whose previous high seed was 12th, didn't disappoint after beginning the season seeded seventh. She made her first final in San Diego in front of a home crowd and took third place five times in 14 top-nine finishes.

Best Blocker

Male: Phil Dalhausser. For the second straight year, Dalhausser takes home this award for his presence at the net. His 399 blocks led all players in the AVP.

Female: Lisa Rutledge. Rutledge dominated at the net by blocking 302 balls. Only Jennifer Fopma (203) came within 100 blocks of Rutledge.

Best Defender

Male: John Hyden. No other man came within 100 of Hyden's 1,007 digs. With four titles in 2009, Hyden won more than one event for the first time in his career.

Female: Brooke Hanson. Hanson led all women with 1,194 digs as she combined with Rutledge to form the best defensive duo on the Tour. Brittany Hochevar (1,004) was the only other woman to eclipse 1,000 digs.

Best Offensive Player

Male: Phil Dalhausser. Dalhausser's 200 aces made the Thin Beast equally as dangerous with his serve as with his block. His .495 hitting percentage also led all men.

Female: Nicole Branagh. Branagh's 145 aces and .477 hitting percentage helped her to a career year that included nine wins.

Most Valuable Player

Male: Phil Dalhausser. If winning Best Blocker and Best Offensive Player wasn't enough, being named Most Valuable Player for the third straight year cemented Dalhausser's status as the best player in the AVP, if not the world.

Female: Nicole Branagh. Just like the men's side, Best Offensive Player proved a reliable indicator for women's MVP. It will be difficult for Branagh, already a two-time Most Improved Player, to improve much upon this banner year.

Team of the Year

Men: Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers. For the third straight year, Dalhausser and Rogers are the top men's team on the Tour. A brief midseason drought followed a torrid start to the season, but Dalhausser and Rogers came on strong and ended up with eight titles as a team. No win meant more than the gold medal triumph over Brazil, which gave Team USA the win in the inaugural AVP World Challenge in Glendale.

Women: Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs. In a career season for both women, Branagh and Youngs won nine events and advanced to the championship match in all 12 of their regular-season team tournaments. Branagh and Youngs played their best on the biggest stages by sweeping three of the AVP's biggest tournaments: Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Chicago. They also contributed two wins in the U.S. women's dominance at the season-ending World Challenge.