PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Cincinnati outside and right side hitter Jordan Thompson became the American Athletic Conference’s first American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Third Team honoree, while UCF freshman outside hitter McKenna Melville and senior libero Jordan Pingel were each tabbed AVCA Honorable Mention All-America selections on Tuesday afternoon.
Thompson, the league’s two-time unanimous Player of the Year, set 11 conference records in 2018, emerging as one of the top players in the country. A two-time AVCA National Player of the Week, three-time VolleyMob National Player of the Week and eight-time conference Offensive Player of the Week this season, Thompson has led the country in kills (827), points (909), kills per set (6.27) and points per set (6.89) since the second week of the season. She set The American’s single-season and career records in each of these categories, while recording the most kills in three, four and five-set matches in conference history. Her kills per set is the highest in NCAA volleyball since the 25-point scoring format began in 2008. No one in the country has had a higher average since the 2006 season. The last time any player in the nation had more than 800 kills in a season was in 2004, with one player totaling 823 and the other 842; that was during the 30-point scoring format. The most kills any player has had prior to Thompson this year in the current 25-point scoring format is 6.23 kills per set and 715 total kills.
Melville and Pingel were instrumental in guiding the Knights to their first NCAA Tournament national seed and first AVCA national ranking. The Knights went 27-4 on the year with an 18-0 mark in The American, earning the Black and Gold its second league championship in five years.
A four-time conference Offensive Player of the Week, Melville, The American’s Freshman of the Year, has had a tremendous rookie campaign. Leading the conference with 22 double-doubles, she ended the year ranked 13th in the nation in kills (529), 14th in points (586.5), 15th in kills per set (4.51) and 14th in points per set (5.01). Her points accounted for nearly a third of UCF’s total production, and defensively, she averaged 3.52 digs and 0.44 blocks per set.
A first team All-Conference selection, Pingel finished her senior season ranked second all-time in conference history with 2,262 career digs. She ended the year ranked 34th in total digs (597) and 39th in digs per set (5.10)—each stat good for setting UCF’s single-season record. Pingel topped 20 digs in 17 matches this season and was named The American’s Defensive Player of the Week four times in 2018.