LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Illinois State volleyball team landed four players on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-North Region team, while head coach Melissa Myers was named the North Region Coach of the Year, the AVCA announced Tuesday.
Kaitlyn Early, Emily Orrick and Jaelyn Keene were named all-region first-team selections, while Keene was additionally named the North Region Freshman of the Year. Junior Ashley Rosch was an all-region honorable mention selection.
The Illinois State volleyball team had a banner season this fall as the Redbirds won their first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles since 1997, and became just the third league team to post a perfect record during conference play. Illinois State also made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 and won its first NCAA Tournament match since 1996. The Redbirds won 23-straight matches from Sept. 12 to Dec. 5, setting an Illinois State volleyball record.
Early, a senior from Wildwood, Missouri, was named both the MVC 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.
Rosch, a junior outside hitter from Fox River Grove, Illinois, was an MVC First-Team All-Conference selection for the third-straight year. Rosch led the Redbirds in kills (425) for the third year in a row, while posting a hitting percentage of .230, her best to date. She added 330 digs and 56 blocks and was named to a pair of all-tournament teams in 2014. Rosch tallied some of the best performances of her career this fall, setting personal bests in kills (23 vs. Drake on Oct. 18), hitting percentage (.593 vs. Evansville on Sept. 28) and digs (23 vs. Marquette on Dec. 4).
Myers, in her seventh season at the helm of the ISU volleyball team, guided the Redbirds in the record-setting season, and was named the MVC Coach of the Year. She coached the MVC Player of the Year, Setter of the Year and Libero of the Year, while a school-record four players earned first-team all-conference honors. The Redbirds set a school record with 39-straight matches in which the team won at least one set, dating back to 2013, and won a school-record 20-straight sets from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15.
All four players will be eligible for AVCA All-America honors, which will be announced Dec. 17.
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