Wednesday, December 4, 2019

PORTLAND, Ore. – Led by the conference’s Player of the Year, nine GNAC players have received All-West Region honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Western Washington senior middle blocker Kayleigh Harper was named to the first team by both organizations. She earned her second consecutive D2CCA First Team award, after being named to the second team in 2015 and 2016, and earned her fourth first-team accolade from the AVCA. Alaska Anchorage sophomore right-side hitter Eve Stephens was also named to both first teams.

Joining the duo on the D2CCA first team is Western Washington freshman setter Malia Aleaga. Also earning AVCA first-team nods is Vikings’ sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gunterman and freshman outside hitter Calley Heilborn along with Seawolves’ sophomore setter Ellen Floyd. Heilborn was also named to the D2CCA second team.

Central Washington senior libero Kyla Morgan, the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the D2CCA second team and earned honorable mention all-region from the AVCA. Joining Morgan as AVCA honorable mentions are Central Washington junior outside hitter Makala Swart and Northwest Nazarene sophomore outside hitter Brooke Foster.

Harper, the GNAC Player of the Year, finished the season leading the GNAC and ranked 16th in Division II with a .386 hitting percentage while also ranking second nationally with 1.45 blocks per set. She also ranks third in the GNAC with 4.15 points per set and eighth with 3.23 kills per set. Harper finished with double-digit kills in 16 of her 28 matches and finished with 10 blocks on two occasions. She is the all-time GNAC leader with 583 and counting.

Stephens leads the GNAC and is 14th in Division II with 4.70 points per set while also leading the conference and ranking 30th in Division II with 3.97 per set. Stephens finished with double-digit kills in 22 matches and registered double-doubles in 11 of those matches. She posted a season-high of 23 kills twice, most recently at Central Washington on Nov. 2.

The only freshman on the D2CCA First Team, Aleaga leads the conference and ranks sixth in Division II with 11.74 assists per set. She finished with 30 or more assists in all but two of the Vikings’ 28 matches and posted double-doubles (assists & digs) five times. She had a high of 63 assists against Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 14. In addition, Aleaga is averaging 0.64 blocks per set.

Heilborn was named GNAC Freshman of the Year after she finished the regular season ranked sixth in the GNAC with both 3.31 kills and 3.91 points per set. She finished with double-digit kills in 19 matches, including in her first 14 matches, and had double-doubles in 17 matches. Heilborn posted a season-high of 20 kills twice, most recently against Hawaii Hilo on Sept. 14.

Gunterman closed the regular season ranked 10th in the GNAC with 3.10 kills and 3.82 digs per set with a .255 hitting percentage. She finished with double-digit kills in 15 matches and notched double-doubles in 13 of those matches. She twice posted a season-high of 17 kills, most recently against Hawaii Hilo in September, and had 29 digs against Simon Fraser on Oct. 1.

Floyd finished the regular season second in the GNAC with 10.23 assists per set while also averaging 2.72 digs and 0.72 blocks per set. She posted double-doubles (assists and digs) in 17 matches and had a season-high of 52 assists twice, most recently against Montana State Billings on Sept. 28. 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.