Volleyball Trio Earns All-America Honors From AVCA

OMAHA, Neb. -- Three members of the 2018 Creighton Volleyball team have been recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with All-America honors. Jaali Winters was named a Third Team All-American, while Madelyn Cole and Taryn Kloth each attained Honorable Mention All-America status.

This year marks the third straight season that Creighton has had three All-Americans, as last year Lydia Dimke, Marysa Wilkinson and Brittany Witt were recognized and in 2016 Dimke, Kloth and Winters were honored.

A senior outside hitter from Ankeny, Iowa, Winters set more than 90 school-records in her career, including marks for career kills (1,843), attacks (5,093), points (2045.5) matches played (139) and matches started (138). Winters was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP in 2018, averaging 3.82 kills and 3.06 digs per set, and had seven double-doubles in eight contests against nationally-ranked foes in 2018.

Winters (2015, 2016, 2018) joins Kelli Browning (2012, 2013, 2014) as the second three-time AVCA All-American in program history, and is the first player named to one of the top three teams multiple times when you factor in her Third Team recognition in 2015. The only other Third Team honoree in program history besides Winters and Browning (2014) is Lydia Dimke (2016).

Kloth led Creighton with 4.15 kills per set and also ranked among the BIG EAST leaders by hitting .283. Her 490 kills are the most in CU history by a senior, and the Sioux Falls, S.D., native ranked fourth in school history with 1,427 career kills. Kloth was honored as an Honorable Mention choice for the second time, as she was first recognized in 2016. Kloth joins Browning, Dimke, Winters and Megan Bober as Creighton players to earn multiple All-America nods from the AVCA.

Cole earns All-Region acclaim for the first time, as the junior from Dallas, Texas, led the BIG EAST with 10.92 assists per set and ranked second with 51 service aces. She started all 34 matches for the Bluejays after transferring in from Marshall University. This is Cole's first All-America honor. She's the fourth Bluejay setter to ever be honored, joining Bober, Dimke and Michelle Sicner.

Creighton finished its 2018 season with a 29-5 record after winning BIG EAST regular-season and tournament titles for the fifth straight season. The Bluejays spent 12 straight weeks ranked in the top-10 of the AVCA poll and made a seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. The Division I TeamSnap/AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on December 14th at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet. This year's class is led by the lone four-time AVCA All-American recipient in this year's class: Minnesota Setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson. BYU Middle Blocker Heather Gneiting takes home the 2018 AVCA National Freshman of the Year.

The selections were made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: Chair: Cathy George, Michigan State; East Region: Christy Pfeffenberger, Xavier; East Coast Region: Michelle Collier, Georgia Tech; Midwest Region: Mike Gawlik, Central Michigan; North Region: Shane Davis, Northwestern; Northeast Region: Sabrina King, Princeton; Pacific North Region: Marc Swindle, Air Force; Pacific South Region: Brent Crouch, USC; South Region: Brandon Rosenthal, Lipscomb; Southeast Region: Tom Black, Georgia; Southwest Region: Lindsey Gray-Walton, Oklahoma.

2018 AVCA DIVISION I FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

Name	School	Pos.	Year
Sherridan Atkinson#	Purdue University	RS	Sr.
Mikaela Foecke^	University of Nebraska	OH	Sr.
Jenna Gray*	Stanford University	S	Jr.
Lyndie Haddock-Eppich	Brigham Young University	S	Sr.
Morgan Hentz*	Stanford University	L	Jr.
Roni Jones-Perry#	Brigham Young University	OH	Sr.
Kathryn Plummer*$	Stanford University	OH	Jr.
Jordyn Poulter#	University of Illinois	S	Sr.
Jacqueline Quade	University of Illinois	OH	Jr.
Dana Rettke*	University of Wisconsin	MB	So.
Stephanie Samedy*	University of Minnesota	RS	So.
Samantha Seliger-Swenson^$!	University of Minnesota	S	Sr.
Lauren Stivrins	University of Nebraska	MB	So.
Kendall White^	Penn State University	L	Jr.

2018 AVCA DIVISION I SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

Name	School	Pos.	Year
Tami Alade	Stanford University	MB	Sr.
Allie Barber	Marquette University	OH	Jr.
Brooke Botkin	University of Southern California	OH	So.
Dani Drews	University of Utah	OH	So.
Leah Edmond*%	University of Kentucky	OH	Jr.
Shelly Fanning	Baylor University	MB	RS-Jr.
Audriana Fitzmorris^	Stanford University	RS	Jr.
Sydney Hilley	University of Wisconsin	S	So.
Mary Lake	Brigham Young University	L	Jr.
Madison Lilley^	University of Kentucky	S	So.
Regan Pittman	University of Minnesota	MB	RS-So.
Carly Skjodt%	University of Michigan	OH	Sr.
Ronika Stone	University of Oregon	MB	Jr.
Micaya White#$	University of Texas	OH	Jr.

2018 AVCA DIVISION I THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

Name	School	Pos.	Year
Naghede Abu	University of Colorado	MB	Sr.
Kara Bajema	University of Washington	OH	Jr.
Ali Bastianelli#	University of Illinois	MB	Sr.
Madison Duello	University of Wisconsin	RS	RS-Jr.
Heather Gneiting	Brigham Young University	MB	Fr.
Kenzie Maloney	University of Nebraska	L	Sr.
Nika Markovic	University of Pittsburgh	RS	Jr.
Taylor Mims	Washington State University	OH	Sr.
Blake Mohler	Purdue University	MB	RS-Jr.
Jonni Parker	Penn State University	RS	Fr.
August Raskie	University of Oregon	S	Sr.
Jordan Thompson	University of Cincinnati	OH	RS-Jr.
Lindsey Vander Weide%	University of Oregon	OH	Sr.
Jaali Winters+	Creighton University	OH	Sr.

* indicates 2017 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
^ indicates 2017 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
# indicates 2017 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection
$ indicates 2016 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
@ indicates 2016 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
% indicates 2016 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection
& indicates 2015 AVCA First-Team All-American selection
! indicates 2015 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
+ indicates a 2015 AVCA Third-Team All-American selection

2018 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Year: Heather Gneiting, BYU, MB
2018 Division I TeamSnap/AVCA Player of the Year: Announced at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet on Friday, December 14th.

2018 AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-America

Name	School	Pos.	Year
Efrosini Alexakou	St. John's	OH	Fr.
Rachel Anderson	Western Kentucky	MB	Sr.
Lee Ann Cunningham	Rice	L	Jr.
Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani	Texas	RS	Sr.
Lauren Bruns	Dayton	OH	Sr.
Brionne Butler	Texas	MB	RS-Fr.
Payton Caffrey**	Florida State	OH	Jr.
Holly Carlton	Florida	RS	RS-So.
Tiffany Clark	Wisconsin	L	Jr.
Madelyn Cole	Creighton	S	Jr.
Devyn Cross	Arizona	MB	Jr.
Gabby Curry	Kentucky	L	So.
Kendra Dahlke	Arizona	OH	Sr.
Kylie DeBerg	Missouri	OH	So.
Ryan DeJarld	Notre Dame	L	Sr.
Sarah Dixon	Kansas State	S	RS-Jr.
Santita Ebangwese	Syracuse	MB	Sr.
Logan Eggleston	Texas	OH	Fr.
Kennedy Eschenberg	BYU	MB	So.
Kylie Grandy	Southern Mississippi	OH	Sr.
Serena Gray	Penn State	MB	Fr.
Tessa Grubbs	Tennessee	OH	Jr.
Thayer Hall	Florida	OH	Fr.
Nicklin Hames	Nebraska	S	Fr.
Hollann Hans	Texas A&M	OH	Jr.
Alexis Hart	Minnesota	OH	Jr.
Kirstie Hillyer	Colorado State	MB	RS-Jr.
Kaitlyn Hord	Penn State	MB	Fr.
Willow Johnson	Oregon	RS	Jr.
Morgan Johnson	Texas	MB	Sr.
Keyton Kinley	Oklahoma	L	So.
Taryn Kloth	Creighton	OH	Sr.
Taryn Knuth	Florida State	MB	So.
Kenzie Koerber	Utah	RS	So.
Martha Konovodoff	Marquette	L	So.
Rachael Kramer	Florida	MB	Jr.
Khalia Lanier	Southern California	OH	Jr.
Raquel Lazaro	Southern California	S	Fr.
Nicole Lennon	Rice	OH	So.
Jenna Lerg	Michigan	L	Sr.
Kayla Lund	Pittsburgh	OH	So.
Kennedy Madison	College of Charleston	RS	Sr.
e'lan McCall	TCU	OH	Fr.
Meghan McClure	Stanford	OH	So.
Melanie McHenry	Louisville	OH	Jr.
McKenna Melville	UCF	OH	Fr.
Leah Meyer	Duke	MB	RS-Jr.
McKenna Miller	BYU	OH	Jr.
Brooke Morgan	Kentucky	MB	Sr.
Taylor Morgan	Minnesota	MB	RS-Jr.
Alyssa Munlyn	Missouri	MB	Sr.
Zana Muno	UCLA	L	Sr.
Gloria Mutiri	Kansas State	RS	Fr.
Charley Niego	Notre Dame	OH	Fr.
Brooke Nuneviller	Oregon	L	Fr.
Katie Oleksak	Colorado State	S	Jr.
Courtney Pence	Illinois State	L	Sr.
Addie Picha	San Diego	MB	Sr.
Jordan Pingel	UCF	L	Sr.
Yossiana Pressley	Baylor	OH	So.
Nia Reed	Penn State	OH	RS-Sr.
Tess Reid	Loyola Marymount	S	Jr.
Wilma Rivera	Louisville	S	Sr.
Adanna Rollins	Minnesota	OH	Fr.
Lindsey Ruddins	UC Santa Barbara	OH	Jr.
Molly Sauer	Louisville	L	Sr.
Jess Schaben	Iowa State	OH	Sr.
Andie Shelton	Duke	S/H	Gr.
Polina Shemanova	Syracuse	OH	Fr.
Mikayla Shields	South Carolina	RS	Jr.
Alexa Smith	Colorado	OH	Sr.
Jasmin Sneed	VCU	MB	Jr.
Piper Thomas	Northern Iowa	MB	Sr.
Erica Treiber	Tennessee	MB	Sr.
Jocelyn Urias	Washington State	MB	RS-Jr.
Layne Van Buskirk	Pittsburgh	MB	Jr.
Adlee Van Winden	Cal Poly	OH	Sr.
Torrey Van Winden	Cal Poly	RS	Jr.
Cortney VanLiew	FGCU	OH	So.
Bryanna Weiskircher	Penn State	S	RS-Sr.
Brooke Westbeld	Dayton	S/H	RS-So.
M'Kaela White	James Madison	MB	Jr.
Stephanie Williams	Pittsburgh	OH	RS-Jr.
Mackenna Woodford	Washington State	OH	Sr.
Kylee Zumach	Kansas State	OH	RS-Sr.