Seniors Katie George and Erin Fairs were named AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans by American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on the 35th annual AVCA Division I All-America Teams for women’s volleyball.
The awards will be presented Dec. 18, 2015, in Omaha, Neb. at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet. The event is held in conjunction with the 2015 AVCA Convention.
Louisville senior setter Katie George was the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Player and Setter of the Year. She led the ACC in assists, averaging 12.13 per set and leading a Louisville offense that was second in the conference in hitting percentage and first in kills per set. This team captain and vocal leader hit .319 against nationally ranked teams and averages 2.52 dig/set against nationally ranked opponents. She is just the second recipient of the Setter of the Year honor since its inception in 2014. She is 5th in the nation in assists (12.14) and 30th in the NCAA in total assists (1,323) During the regular season, she accrued honors including Tournament MVP and All Active Ankle Classic as well as being named to the All-Illini Classic Team. She was a preseason All-ACC selection and had 18 double doubles this season and is ranked No. 4 in career assists at Louisville. She is 4th on the team in service aces and was recently named as a second team CoSIDA Academic All-American member.
Senior captain Erin Fairs transferred from South Florida. With every defense keying on her, she still led the team in kills (424) and in solo blocks (19). At USF, she was the Big East Freshman of the Year. Then she was the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Honorable mention all American as a sophomore. As a junior she was All-AAC. She was named first team all-ACC this year, making her the first player in history to win all conference honors in three different leagues. She was an ACC All-Preseason pick and had 5 matches with 20 or more kills. She scored double digit points in every match but 3. She had 25+ points against Miami and Pitt and had double digit points against every nationally ranked opponent, including 23 vs. Minnesota and 17.5 vs. Wisconsin. She is the primary passer in three rotations and averages 1.34 digs per set. In the NCAA, she is 70th in Kills/Set (3.91) and 60th Points/Set (4.35) in an offense that features four offensive weapons.
Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. This marks the first year all players representing the Honorable Mention All-Americans were selected by the selection committee (previously, players who made All-Region were automatically honorable mention if they didn’t make one of the three teams). The Division I AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Dec. 18 at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet.
Additionally, Stanford’s Hayley Hodson takes home the AVCA Freshman of the Year.
by Nancy Worley