Martin Named to USA Volleyball's 2024 Women's Collegiate Team
6/14/2024 9:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Rising junior is a two-time All-BIG EAST selection
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Creighton Volleyball standout Ava Martin is one of 19 women's collegiate athletes to have been selected for the 2024 Women's Collegiate National Team.
The Women's Collegiate National Team will train June 30-July 6 in Anaheim, Calif., alongside the U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team.
Setters on the team are Kate Lang, Mia Tuaniga and Molly Wilson. Liberos are Lauren Briseño, Kate Georgiades and Allison Jacobs. The outside hitters are Aliyah Carter, Claire Little, Ava Martin, Emmi Sellman and Mckenna Wucherer. The opposites are Jordan Iliff, Logan Lednicky and Megan Wilson. The middle blockers are Desiree Becker, Lydia Martyn, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Anna Dodson and Phekran Kong.
Chris McGown of Gold Medal Squared will serve as the team's head coach.
"Getting the chance to work with our staff and athletes of the Women's Collegiate National Team is an absolute honor for me, and I'm excited to be back in the USA gym," McGown said. "To think that the work we do could be a part of someone's Olympic journey is really inspiring, and I know our staff will bring our best every day. I'm so proud of the work these athletes have put in to get themselves to this point, and we're really looking forward to helping them become even better."
A rising junior from Overland Park, Kan., Martin has been named All-BIG EAST after each of her first two seasons at the collegiate level, and was an Honorable Mention All-American pick by Volleyball Magazine following the 2023 season. She finished her sophomore year fourth in the BIG EAST with 3.59 kills per set, fifth with 3.95 points per set and 11th with a .280 hitting percentage. She was named MVP of the Diet Coke Classic after helping CU to victories over both High Point and No. 9 Minnesota.
Martin was one of four Bluejays who went to Colorado Springs, Colo., in late February for tryouts, joining Elise Goetzinger, Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Norah Sis.
Creighton has had several women play internationally with USA Volleyball in recent seasons, as Brittany Witt (Thailand), Jaali Winters (Croatia), Taryn Kloth (China) and Norah Sis (Mexico) have all represented Team USA at one time or another in the past decade. Sis, in particular, has been part of back-to-back gold medal-winning teams at the U21 Women's NORCECA Pan American Cup, while Kloth is headed to Paris, France next month as she becomes Creighton's first female student-athlete to compete in the Olympics.
Creighton finished the 2023 season with a 29-5 record, reaching the program's third Sweet 16 since 2015 in addition to earning a 10th straight BIG EAST regular-season title. The Bluejays are coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth.
Name (Pos., Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
Desiree Becker (MB, 6-2, 2001, Dewitt, Mich., UCLA, Lakeshore)
Lauren Briseño (L, 5-7, 2003, San Antonio, Texas, Baylor, Lone Star)
Lydia Martyn (MB, 6-3, 2002, Anderson, S.C., Oklahoma, Palmetto)
Aliyah Carter (OH, 5-10, 2002, Sherrill, Iowa, Kansas State, Iowa)
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla (MB, 6-2, 2004, College Station, Texas, Texas A&M, Lone Star)
Anna Dodson (MB, 6-5, 2001, Fort Collins, Colo., UCLA, Rocky Mountain)
Kate Georgiades (L, 5-9, 2002, College Station, Texas, Houston, Lone Star)
Jordan Iliff (OPP, 6-2, 2002, Saint Louis, Mo., Univ. of Missouri, Gateway)
Allison Jacobs (L, 5-11, 2002, Stevenson Ranch, Calif., Univ. of Michigan, Southern California)
Phekran Kong (MB, 6-4, 2001, Louisville, Ken., Univ. of Louisville, Pioneer)
Kate Lang (S, 5-10, 2002, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Hawaii, Aloha)
Logan Lednicky (OPP, 6-3 2004, Fulshear, Texas, Texas A&M, Lone Star)
Claire Little (OH, 6-2, 2004, Winchester, Calif., BYU, Southern California)
Ava Martin (OH, 6-1, 2004, Overland Park, Kan., Creighton, Heart of America)
Emmi Sellman (OH, 6-4, 2005, Burtonsville, Md., Ohio State, Chesapeake Region)
Mia Tuaniga (S, 5-9, 2001, Long Beach, Calif., Univ. of Southern California, Southern California)
Molly Wilson (S, 5-11, 2002, Murrietta, Calif., Univ. of Washington, Southern California)
Megan Wilson (Opp, 6-4, 2002, Houston, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky, Lone Star)
Mckenna Wucherer (OH, 6-1, 2004, Brookfield, Wis., Univ. of Minnesota, Badger)
Head Coach: Chris McGown, Gold Medal Squared
Assistant Coach: Suzie Fritz, LOVB
Assistant Coach: Danielle Scott, LOVB
Assistant Coach: Todd Daganais, PVF
Performance Analyst: Michael Bouril, Purdue
Athletic Trainer: Cherryl Bueno
Team Leader: Alex Purvey, NTDP
