The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its All-Region selections and three players from The American were named to All-Region teams, while two others were named Honorable Mention.
Jordan Thompson (Cincinnati) was named to the North Region and Katie Hegarty (SMU) and Jale Hervey (UCF) were named to the Southeast Region team. SMU’s Janelle Giordano and Morgan Heise were named Honorable Mention in the Southeast Region
Thompson earned a spot on the North Region as the sophomore right side hitter was a unanimous selection for Player of the Year in The American. Thompson led the conference in kills per set (4.92) and points per set (5.50). Thompson was also the quickest player in conference history to reach 1,000 career kills and led the Bearcats to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011.
Hegarty led SMU to its first win in the NCAA Tournament in school history as the Mustangs beat Texas A&M in the first round. The junior was named First-Team All-Conference after leading SMU in kills per set (3.81) and points per set (4.40). Hegarty became the first player at SMU to finish the season with over 400 kills since 2009 and recorded the first triple-double in American history with 22 kills, 12 digs and 10 blocks against Tulane.
Hervey earned her second recognition from the AVCA in her career, making the Honorable Mention team in 2014. The senior had career-highs in kills (504) and aces (29) while also recording 333 digs this season and finished with 1238 kills in her career. Hervey was named to the American Athletic Conference First-Team for the third consecutive year.
Giordano anchored the block for SMU with a league-leading 154 blocks, 17
th in the NCAA. The senior holds the SMU and conference record with 615 total career blocks and is the first Mustang to have 1,000 kills and 500 blocks.
Heise was named Libero of the Year for the third year in a row, leading The American in digs for the third straight season. The senior owns the SMU and conference record with 2,346 career digs and was named Defensive Player of the Week four times.
By being named to the All-Region teams, Thompson, Hegarty and Hervey and eligible to be named All-Americans.