PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the league’s regular season volleyball honors for the 2016 season, which were voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
Cincinnati brought home three of the five major awards with sophomore Jordan Thompson earning American Player of the Year by a unanimous selection. Sophomore Jade Tingelhoff claimed Setter of the year and Molly Alvey was named Coach of the Year. SMU earned the other two awards with senior Morgan Heise being named Libero of the Year for the third straight year, and setter Kendall Patterson taking home Freshman of the Year honors.
Thompson is the first unanimous Player of the Year and became the first player in American Athletic Conference history to reach 1,000 career kills in her sophomore season. Thompson led the American, with 4.95 kills per set and 5.57 points per set. The Edina, Minn., native led the Bearcats to its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011.
Tingelhoff finished second in The American with 11.11 assists per set, guiding an offense that finished with the best hitting percentage in the conference (.265). The sophomore setter posted 50 or more assists in five matches, including a season-high 59 against conference champion SMU. Tingelhoff also had a streak of 10 matches with over 30 assists from Sep. 17 to Oct. 21.
Heise was named Libero of the Year for the third straight year after anchoring the top defense in the league, holding opponents to a .168 hitting percentage. The senior led the league in digs for the third straight season, finishing with 593 and ranks 20
th in the NCAA with 5.16 digs per set. Heise, already the American leader in career digs, became the all-time digs leader in SMU history, recording her 2.220
th career dig against Tulane on Oct. 30 and currently sits at 2,346 career digs.
Patterson is the first Mustang to take home the Freshman off the Year honor after leading The American with 11.23 assists per set. The freshman setter had 50-plus assists three times during the season including a season-high 54 in a five-set win against Cincinnati. From Sep. 10 to Oct. 23, Patterson had a streak of 15 games with 35-plus assists.
Alvey and her staff guided the Bearcats to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2011 season as Cincinnati earned the first at-large bid in American Athletic Conference history, after finishing second with a 17-3 record in conference play. The 17 conference wins are the most in the four years Cincinnati has been in the conference. Alvey has turned around a Cincinnati program that, in 2013, won only three conference games.
First Team All-Conference
Jale Hervey, OH, UCF
Kia Bright, OH, UCF*
Carly Nolan, OH, Cincinnati
Jade Tingelhoff, S, Cincinnati
Jordan Thompson, RS/OH, Cincinnati*
Janelle Giordano, MB, SMU
Katie Hegarty, RS, SMU*
Morgan Heise, L, SMU
Irem Asci, OH, Temple
Izzy Rapacz, RS/OH, Temple
Sarah Ray, OH, Tulane
Erica Bohannon, OH, Tulsa
*
Denotes unanimous selection
Second Team All-Conference
Ciara Hill, OH, Cincinnati
Kayla Williams, OH, UConn
Kendall Patterson, S, SMU
Kristen Stehling, MB, SMU
Kirsten Overton, MB, Temple
Kaylie McHugh, L, Tulane
Tea Juric, OH, Tulane
Brooke Berryhill, L, Tulsa