Jaali Winters (#5) and Taryn Kloth (#12) are up for the Senior CLASS Award.
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Kloth & Winters Named to Senior CLASS Award Candidate List
10/1/2018 12:07:00 PM | Volleyball
Bluejay seniors are among 30 candidates nationally
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Creighton's Taryn Kloth and Jaali Winters are among 30 student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected today as candidates for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. Kloth and Winters are two of three BIG EAST candidates, and make Creighton one of two teams (Illinois) with multiple candidates.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
Of the 30 candidates, 13 have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher and 27 have received academic all-conference honors. Fifteen are returning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, and 10 are members of teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
Kloth is a two-time All-BIG EAST performer and having her best season to date. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native leads the BIG EAST with 257 kills, a figure that is the most in Creighton history after 16 matches. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 BIG EAST Tournament, and ranks eighth in school history in career kills. Kloth was named an All-American in 2016, and spent 11 days this May with the U.S. Collegiate National Team in China. Kloth owns five matches this season with 20 or more kills, including a career-best 26 against Nebraska earlier this season.
Winters is a three-time All-BIG EAST honoree and three-time All-American. The Ankeny, Iowa, product sits just 16 kills away from Creighton's career record (1,622), which would be the 77th school record of her magnificent career. Winters was named 2016 BIG EAST Tournament MVP, named a 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American, was recognized as Creighton's Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2017-18, and in 2015-16 was named CU's Female Athlete of the Year. Winters spent two weeks in the summer of 2017 with the U.S. Collegiate National Team in Croatia.
Both Kloth and Winters are also Dean's List students in the classroom who have earned three BIG EAST All-Academic Team plaudits and will graduate in December in just seven semesters.
Other candidates who are on Creighton's schedule include the Illinois duo of Ali Bastianelli and Jordan Poulter, as well as Mikaela Foecke (Nebraska), Jess Schaben (Iowa State) and Abby Thelen (Seton Hall).
Kloth and Winters are the latest in a long line of Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Lydia Dimke was a candidate in 2017. Jess Bird and Lauren Smith were candidates in 2016, with Smith ending the fall as a Senior CLASS All-American. Other past volleyball candidates include Melanie Jereb in 2015, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012.
Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Volleyball Candidates
| Kamalani Akeo, Pittsburgh | Courtney Pence, Illinois State |
| Tami Alade, Stanford | Jordan Poulter, Illinois |
| Rachel Anderson, Western Kentucky | Colleen Reilly, Wofford |
| Ali Bastianelli, Illinois | Michela Rucli, Hofstra |
| Lauren Bruns, Dayton | Jess Schaben, Iowa State |
| Santita Ebangwese, Syracuse | Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Minnesota |
| Gabrielle Eyl, Northeastern | Carly Skjodt, Michigan |
| Mikaela Foecke, Nebraska | Alexa Smith, Colorado |
| Cara Guthrie, UNC Asheville | Kirstyn Sperry, Bryant |
| Erica Haslag, Bradley | Haley Templeton, Miami |
| Taryn Kloth, Creighton | Abby Thelen, Seton Hall |
| Haley Libs, Northern Kentucky | Jaila Tolbert, Virginia Tech |
| AJ Lux, East Tennessee State | Erica Treiber, Tennessee |
| Patricia Mattingly, Navy | Jaali Winters, Creighton |
| Alyssa Munlyn, Missouri | Karley York, North Texas |
Ranked 10th nationally, Creighton returns to the court this week with home matches against Seton Hall (Friday, 7 p.m.) and St. John's (Sunday, 1 p.m.).
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.
Players Mentioned
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Sunday, December 14
Creighton Volleyball NCAA Tournament Highlights vs. Kentucky, 12/13/25
Saturday, December 13
Kentucky Volleyball Media Availability - 12/12/25
Friday, December 12
Arizona State Volleyball Press Conference After Creighton Match - 12/11/25
Thursday, December 11
