KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Illinois State junior libero Courtney Pence was rewarded for her outstanding performance during the 2017 season, as she was named an Honorable Mention All-America selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Wednesday. The awards will be presented December 15 in Kansas City, Missouri, at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet held in conjunction with the 2017 AVCA Convention.
Pence becomes the sixth student-athlete in program history to earn All-American status, joining Julie (Mueller) Paska (Second Team, 1984), Jolene (Jordan) Hoover (Honorable Mention, 1985), Kaitlyn Early (Honorable Mention, 2014), Jaelyn Keene (Honorable Mention, 2014) and Emily Orrick (Honorable Mention, 2014).
"Our program is very proud to call Courtney Pence an All-American," Illinois State head coach Leah Johnson said. "This award is a reflection of her excellent play all year. More importantly, it is a reflection of the hard work and grit Courtney puts into practice, the weight room, film sessions, and elsewhere. Â She is surrounded by great teammates with whom I know she shares this honor proudly."
A 2017 All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection, Pence earned her way onto the AVCA All-America ballot after being named an AVCA All-North Region honoree last week. The Springfield, Illinois, native leads all NCAA Division I players in total digs (821), while ranking second in digs per set (6.27). She set Illinois State's single-season digs record (821) and broke the school's career digs record (2,083) in just her junior season.
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