Three Huskies Earn AVCA All-America Honors
December 17, 2014 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – For the first time since 2009, the Huskies put three players on the top three All-America teams, as announced today by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Krista Vansant earned her third career All-America honor and her second straight First Team selection, while Kaleigh Nelson was named to the Third Team for the second year in a row, and junior Lianna Sybeldon earned her first All-America honor, on the Third Team.
The AVCA selects a 14-player First Team, Second Team, and Third Team, plus honorable mentions. Vansant is just the third Husky to earn multiple First Team honors, joining Christal Morrison and Courtney Thompson.
Vansant wrapped her record-setting career last weekend. An unparalleled list of achievements includes winning back-to-back Pac-12 Player of the Year awards, earning ESPNW National Player of the Year, as well as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Capital One Academic All-American of the Year, the 2013 Honda Award, and the 2013 AVCA National Player of the Year.
Vansant was a First Team selection in 2013 as well as a Second Teamer in 2012 as a sophomore. She finishes as the UW career leader in kills with 1,893, and her 565 kills in her senior season was the third-most one year total in school history, and the most in the 25-point era. Vansant set the record for most Pac-12 Player of the Week awards in a career with ten, and earned three career AVCA National Player of the Week honors.
Nelson also joins a select group of Husky outside hitters with multiple selections to the top-three teams. The only other Huskies in that mix are Vansant, Morrison, Sanja Tomasevic, and Kindra Carlson. She was second on the team with 293 kills, hitting a big career-best of .339 that was tops among Pac-12 outside hitters. Nelson's 105 total blocks was also third on the team. The Salem, Oregon product was also named All-Pac-12 for the second straight season as well as All-Pacific North Region for the second time.
Sybeldon becomes the first Husky middle on the AVCA team since Bianca Rowland was a Second Team selection in 2011. She led the Pac-12 in blocks per set and ranked fourth nationally with 1.55, and her .392 attack percentage was 23rd in the NCAA. Sybeldon's 215 kills were fourth-most on the team. She earned All-Pac-12 first team distinction this year after being named honorable mention last year.
