Chaussee Named an AVCA First-Team All-American; Four Cards Win Awards
The No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team placed four players on the AVCA All-American Team with Claire Chaussee being named an AVCA First Team All-American. Chaussee is joined by All-American teammates Elena Scott, who earned Second Team honors, Amaya Tillman, who earned Third Team honors, and Raquel Lazaro, who earned Honorable Mention honors.
Amaya Tillman Wins Elite 90 Award for NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship
Amaya Tillman, a senior middle blocker from the University of Louisville is the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2022 NCAA Division I Championship. Tillman, majoring in Sports Administration, currently carries a 3.945 GPA. She was presented with the award during the women’s Volleyball Championship Dinner on Dec. 14, 2020 in Omaha, Nebraska Earlier today, Tillman was voted to the AVCA Third Team All-America squad. The First Team All East Region Team member leads the conference in blocks per set with 1.48, totaling 157 on the season. The two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2020 and 2022) is tied for sixth nationally in blocks per set and tied for 25th-most blocks this season. She posted a season-best 10 blocks against Pitt and registered 16 games with five or more blocks. The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.
Four UK Volleyball Players Named All-American, Tied Most in Nation
The Kentucky Volleyball team placed four players on the 2022 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association All-America teams, tied for the most in the nation with two Wildcats making second team and two more on the third team. Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Emma Grome and All-SEC performer Azhani Tealer both earned their second-career All-America honors by being placed on the second team. Adanna Rollins and junior Reagan Rutherford were both awarded spots on the third team. It is the first-career All-America honor for Rollins and Rutherford. All-America voting was conducted this week in Omaha, the site of the 2022 NCAA Volleyball Final Four, with each regional representative coach earning a vote in the all-American committee and the group putting together three teams plus honorable mention. Each of the three teams has 14 members, and are not position specific or limited. Kentucky’s four honorees in the All-America voting were tied with the University of Texas for the most players on an AA team in the nation.
WKU Volleyball’s Lauren Matthews Earns Fourth All-American Title; Briggs Named Honorable Mention
WKU Volleyball made history Wednesday morning as fifth-year senior Lauren Matthews landed on her third American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American team, earning Second Team nods. To go along with an Honorable Mention accolade in 2019, Matthews is now the fourth Hilltopper to earn four All-American titles — the first with three team titles. Senior Paige Briggs was also commemorated for an outstanding season, as she was named All-American Honorable Mention for 2022, garnering her second All-American title in her four years on The Hill. Being rewarded for her careered success, Matthews was named the Conference USA Alyssa Cavanaugh Player of the Year award for the second straight season. Additionally, the Indianapolis, Ind., native earned First Team All-Conference and All-Tournament Team for the fourth-straight season. Earlier this month, Matthews repeated for a third season as the AVCA’s South Region Player of the Year, along with her fourth All-Region mark in her career.