Wednesday, December 11, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Led by a consensus first-team selection for Western Washington senior middle blocker Kayleigh Harper, a total of nine GNAC players have earned Division II Volleyball All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Associations (D2CCA).

Harper was named to both first teams after earning second-team selection from both organizations in 2018. She is joined as an All-American by three teammates. Freshman setter Malia Aleaga was named a Third Team All-American by the D2CCA. Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman and freshman right-side hitter Calley Heilborn received Third Team All-American honors by the AVCA.

Alaska Anchorage saw sophomore right-side hitter Eve Stephens earn Second Team All-American honors from the AVCA while sophomore setter Ellen Floyd was named as an honorable mention. Also earning honorable mention status is Northwest Nazarene sophomore outside hitter Brooke Foster, Central Washington senior libero Kyla Morgan and Central Washington junior outside hitter Makala Swart.

The GNAC Player of the Year, Harper closed her season as the GNAC career leader in hitting percentage (.373) and total blocks (597). She finished the NCAA West Regional ranked second in Division II with 1.47 blocks per set, ninth with 147 total blocks and 14th with a .382 hitting percentage, leading the GNAC in all three categories. She also led the conference with 4.12 points per set. Harper finished the year with 17 double-digit kill performances and twice finished with 10 blocks.

The only freshman named to the D2CCA All-America Team, Aleaga led the GNAC and finished the year ranked sixth in Division II with 11.71 assists per set. She finished with 40 or more assists in 17 matches and had double-doubles (assists and digs) in four matches. Aleaga had a season-high of 63 assists against Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 14.

Gunterman finished the season averaging 3.13 kills, 3.63 points and 3.63 digs per set, ranking 10th in the GNAC in both kills and points. She finished with double-digit kills in 17 matches and had double-doubles (kills and digs) in 13 matches. Gunterman had a high of 17 kills twice, most recently against Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 14, and had a high of 29 digs against Simon Fraser on Oct. 1.

Heilborn was one of just four freshmen named to the AVCA All-America Team. The GNAC Freshman of the Year, Heilborn finished sixth in the GNAC with 3.32 kills and 4.12 points per set and was seventh with 3.94 digs per set. She finished with double-digit kills in 21 matches, including her first 14 of the season, and had 18 double-doubles (kills and digs). Heilborn posted a high of 20 kills twice, most recently against Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 14.

Stephens led the GNAC and ranked 33rd in Division II with 3.90 kills per set as she helped lead Alaska Anchorage to its first postseason appearance since 2017. She also led the GNAC and ranked 21st in Division II with 4.62 points per set. She finished with double-digit kills in 24 matches, including two 23-kill matches, and had double-doubles in 11 matches.

Floyd finished second in the GNAC with 10.14 assists per set while also averaging 2.62 digs and 0.70 blocks per set. She posted double-doubles (assists and digs) in 17 matches and had a season-high of 52 assists twice. Floyd was named the AVCA Division II National Player of the Week on Nov. 19 after she had 91 assists, 29 digs, nine blocks and seven kills in wins over Western Washington and Simon Fraser.

Morgan, the two-time GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, led the GNAC and ranked 15th in Division II with 5.80 digs per set. She finished her career ranked third all-time with 2,342 total digs and sixth with 5.37 digs per set. Morgan had double-digit digs in all but one match and had 30 or more digs in five matches, led by 38 against Western Oregon on Nov. 16.

Swart finished ranked seventh in the conference with 3.30 kills and 3.74 points per set. She finished with double-digit kills in 20 matches and notched double-doubles in 15 matches. Swart had a season-high of 20 kills against Seattle Pacific on Oct. 31.

Foster finished the season ranked second in the GNAC with 3.63 kills and 4.25 points per set while leading the conference and ranking 19th in Division II with 11.39 attacks per set. Foster finished with double-digit kills in 21 matches, led by 24 against Montana State Billings on Oct. 12, and had double-doubles in 18 matches.