Volleyball Trio Named All-BIG EAST; Reinhardt Earns All-Freshman Honors

OMAHA, Neb. -- Four women with the Creighton Volleyball program were recognized by the BIG EAST on Thursday following a vote of league coaches for All-BIG EAST and All-Freshman Team recognition. Keeley Davis, Naomi Hickman and Jaela Zimmerman were named All-BIG EAST and Kiara Reinhardt landed a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

Davis and Zimmerman were honored for the second straight season, as both women were also All-BIG EAST in 2019. Davis owns eight kills or more in all 12 matches she's appeared in, and the sophomore from Highlands Ranch, Colo., product ranks among the league leaders in points per set (6th) and kills per set (7th). Zimmerman was a unanimous selection after ranking among the league leaders in kills per set (4th), points per set (4th) and service aces per set (10th). The Lincoln, Neb., native has been named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week three times this spring and added BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week laurels to her credit yesterday.

Hickman was also a unanimous choice after leading the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.363) and blocks per set (1.33) in league play. The senior middle blocker from Lawrence, Kan., ranks 43rd in the nation in blocks per set.

Reinhardt gives Creighton an All-Freshman Team selection for the second straight season after Davis earned similar acclaim in 2019. The Cedarburg, Wis., product has started every match this spring for CU and leads all BIG EAST freshmen with 1.10 blocks per set. Creighton is 5-0 this season when she has five or more blocks, and also 5-0 when she has six or more kills.

St. John's outside hitter Efrosini Alexakou was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year, while Villanova's Averi Salvador brought home Libero of the Year recognition. Xavier's Delaney Hogan earned Freshman of the Year acclaim and Providence's Margot Royer-Johnson was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year after leading the Friars to their first BIG EAST Tournament berth since 1999.

Creighton (10-3, 7-1 BIG EAST) hosts the BIG EAST Championship presented by JEEP starting tomorrow morning with an 11 a.m. semifinal match vs. UConn. St. John's and Marquette, both of whom also had three All-BIG EAST honorees, will meet in the 1:30 p.m. semifinal.

BIG EAST Volleyball Regular Season Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, Jr., OH

BIG EAST Libero of the Year
Averi Salvador, Villanova, Grad Student, L/DS

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Delaney Hogan, Xavier, Fr., MB

Coaching Staff of the Year
Providence (Head Coach: Margot Royer-Johnson)

All-BIG EAST Team
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Melody Davidson, Butler, RS-Jr., MB
Caylee Parker, UConn, Jr., OH ^
Keeley Davis, Creighton, So., OH
Naomi Hickman, Creighton, Sr., MB ^
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, Jr., OH ^
Savannah Rennie, Marquette, Gr., MB
Hope Werch, Marquette, Sr., OH
Taylor Wolf, Marquette, Sr., RS/S
Allison Barber, Providence, Sr., S
Emma Nelson, Providence, So., OH
Efrosini Alexakou, St. John's, Jr., OH ^
Tiziana Baumrukova, St. John's, Sr., S
Rachele Rastelli, St. John's, Jr., RS ^
Tsvetelina Ilieva, Seton Hall, Fr., OH
Riley Homer, Villanova, Fr., OH
Sophia Howling, Villanova, Jr., MH
Averi Salvador, Villanova, Gr., L/DS
Delaney Hogan, Xavier, Fr., MB
Carrigan O'Reilly, Xavier, So., S

All-BIG EAST Freshman Team
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Kiara Reinhardt, Creighton, Fr., MB
Jill Pressly, DePaul, Fr., OH ^
Tsvetelina Ilieva, Seton Hall, Fr., OH
Taylor Jakubowski, Seton Hall, Fr., S
Riley Homer, Villanova, Fr., OH
Delaney Hogan, Xavier, Fr., MB ^

^ - denotes unanimous selection

Volleyball Trio Named All-BIG EAST; Reinhardt Earns All-Freshman Honors

Players Mentioned

Keeley Davis

Naomi Hickman

Kiara Reinhardt

Jaela Zimmerman

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