(Photo courtesy Matt Wing/ISU Sports Information)
By ISU Sports Information
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A trio of Illinois State players earned All-America honors as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its All-America teams Wednesday.
Kaitlyn Early, Emily Orrick and Jaelyn Keene earned AVCA All-America honorable mention status. They become the third, fourth and fifth players in program history to earn All-America honors, joining Julie (Mueller) Paska and Jolene Jordan-Hoover, who earned the honors in 1984 and 1985, respectively.
Early, Orrick and Keene had previously earned AVCA All-Region honors on Dec. 10. Keene was additionally named the North Region Freshman of the Year.
Early, a senior from Wildwood, Missouri, was named both the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Setter of the Year after Illinois State's unblemished MVC campaign. She was a four-time MVC Offensive Player of the Week selection during the 2014 season. Early averaged 11.06 assists per set, while leading the team to a .235 hitting percentage. She added season totals of 144 kills, 325 digs and 67 blocks. Early posted a career-high 64 assists in a 3-2 win over Drake on Oct. 18, and posted 50 or more assists five times during the 2014 season.
Orrick, a senior from Mackinaw, Illinois, was named the MVC Libero of the Year for the second-consecutive season. She set multiple Illinois State records for digs, including digs in a match (42) and digs in a season (732). Orrick also concluded her career with digs per set records in a season (5.90) and a career (5.39). She also finished her career ranking sixth in school history in career digs (1,304), despite playing for just two seasons. Orrick was a five-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week selection in 2014.
Keene, a freshman middle hitter from Jacksonville, Illinois, was a MVC First-Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team selection. She ranked among the MVC leaders in multiple categories, including hitting percentage (.353), kills (364), aces (29) and blocks (127). She was a two-time MVC Freshman of the Week selection. Keene finished the year with one of her best performances, recording a career-high 19 kills in a 3-2 win over Marquette in the opening-round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Redbirds overcame a 0-2 deficit to reach the second round.
The 2014 season was a banner year for the Illinois State volleyball team as the Redbirds posted a record of 27-6. The team won 23-consecutive matches from Sept. 12 to Dec. 4 and captured the program's first MVC regular-season and tournament titles since 1997. The team also won the program's first NCAA Tournament match since 1997, and the first in program history away from Redbird Arena.
