IRVING, Texas – Four American Athletic Conference volleyball players were named to the 2022 Volleyball Academic All-America Teams as chosen by the College Sports Communicators (CSC). UCF graduate outside hitter McKenna Melville was also named the Academic All-America of the Year.
Along with being named the Academic All-America of the Year, Melville was named to the First Team, SMU’s London Austin-Roark and Tulsa’s Kayley Cassaday were named to the Second Team, and UCF’s Amber Olson was selected to the Third Team.
Melville becomes the second Academic All-America of the Year in volleyball for The American, joining Avery Acker of SMU in 2016, and the third in any sport (Georgina Corrick of South Florida softball – 2022). Melville, a three-time American Player of the Year and five-time AVCA All-America selection, led NCAA Division I in points per set (6.12) and kills per set (5.51), while ranking 7th in total kills (573). She became just the 10th student-athlete in NCAA Division I history to reach 2,500 career kills. Melville finishes her career with the second most kills in American history (2,563). Melville boasts a 4.00 cumulative GPA pursuing a post-graduate degree in finance.
Cassaday led the Golden Hurricane offense, recording 525 kills on the season (4.49 kills per set). She added 251 digs, 35 blocks and 19 service aces. She recorded 1,646 attacks, leading the nation in attacks per set (14.07). Cassaday boasts a 4.00 GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering.
Austin-Roark helped lead the Mustangs to a 22-10 record on the year and was impressive on both sides of the net. The middle-blocker have 57 total blocks on the season for an average of 1.12 blocks per set. She had 1.88 kills per set while hitting .333 on the year. Austin-Roark maintained a 4.00 GPA while majoring in management.
Olson facilitated the UCF offense to a tune of 11.83 assists per set – the third highest mark in NCAA Division I. She finished the season with 1,230 total assists and helped the UCF offense to the third highest hitting percentage in the country (.315) Olson was named the American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year, the second time she has earned the honor. Olson holds a 3.80 GPA while majoring in accounting.
The NCAA Division I volleyball Academic All-America team includes 10 student-athletes who have maintained perfect 4.0 GPAs plus another with a 4.0 GPA in graduate studies among its 21 honorees. The first team put together an average GPA of 3.892.