OMAHA, Neb. – Jessica Houts was named Defensive Player of the Year and joined Amanda Cvejdlik and Korie Lebeda as one of three Creighton Volleyball players named First Team all-Missouri Valley Conference. In addition, Bluejay libero Bianca Rivera was named second-team all-MVC in the voting by league coaches.
The honors were announced this morning at a banquet in Wichita, Kan., where the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament will begin tonight.
Creighton had a school-record three first-team selections of the 13 players honored on the first-team. Wichita State, the nation’s No. 9 team and one of two undefeated schools in the country, had a league-best four players on the first team, including Valley Player of the Year Emily Stockman. WSU representatives were also honored as Libero of the Year (Kelly Broussard), Freshman of the Year (Mary Elizabeth Hooper) and Coach of the Year (Chris Lamb).
Houts, a 6-0 middle blocker from Bloomington, Minn., was named first-team all-MVC while also taking home MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors. The junior ranked among the league leaders in kills per set (3.18), blocks per set (1.33), hitting percentage (.289) and points per set (4.05) to pace the Jays in each category. Creighton’s all-time leader in blocks per set and block assists for a career, Houts plays all six rotations and was the only player in the MVC to average at least one block and dig per set. She had six conference matches with at least seven kills, seven digs and seven blocks, while the rest of the league had one such outing combined. This is her first time being named first-team all-MVC. Houts was a second-team pick in 2006 but tore her ACL last September and missed the majority of the 2007 campaign. She is the first Creighton player to ever win Defensive Player of the Year honors, an award that began last year.
Cvejdlik, a 6-3 outside hitter from Omaha, Neb., earns a spot on the all-MVC team for the first time. The senior from Millard North High School had the best all-around season of her career, averaging 3.05 kills, 0.58 blocks and 0.52 digs per set while also hitting a career-high .243. Cvejdlik became one of six players to surpass 1,000 career kills and was named to the Gamecock Invitational All-Tournament Team in the second week of the fall. In conference-only play, Cvejdlik led CU with 3.29 kills per set while also hitting .275.
Lebeda, a 5-8 senior setter from Omaha, Neb., becomes the 13th player in MVC history to earn first-team all-MVC honors three straight years. The Omaha Marian High School graduate had 14 double-doubles in 18 MVC matches and ranks second in the MVC with 10.62 assists per set. Lebeda owns school records for career matches started (118), matches played (118), sets played (423), assists (5,231) and assists per set (12.37). Her 5,231 career assists ranks fifth in MVC history, and her 13.34 assists per set as a freshman in 2005 remains an MVC single-season record.
Rivera was honored on the MVC’s second-team, her first all-conference honor ever. The 5-3 senior libero from San Juan, Puerto Rico, has been CU’s only libero in the past two years, collecting 20 or more digs in 26-of-57 matches played. Rivera is averaging 4.95 digs per set this year, but upped her numbers to 5.64 digs per set in league play. She’s already sixth in CU history with 1,088 career digs and her 5.39 career digs per set in easily the best mark in Bluejay history. Rivera has been a four-time honoree as MVC Defensive Player of the Week, including twice this fall, and owns a share of the CU single-match record with 38 digs in a match.
Creighton (18-8) finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference, which earned it a bye into the semifinals of the league tournament. The Bluejays will play the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal match between Northern Iowa (23-7) and Evansville (14-17) on Friday at 5 pm. The contest will be broadcast on KVSS (88.9 FM). The league championship match would be at 7 pm on Saturday night and broadcast on both KVSS (88.9 FM) and Cox Channel 2 in Omaha.
