Volleyball's Winters & Smith Named AVCA All-Americans

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton Volleyball team had a pair of women earn All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Wednesday as Jaali Winters was named a third-team selection while Lauren Smith earned honorable-mention acclaim.

The third-team recognition for Winters matches the highest individual honor in program history, matching Kelli Browning's 2014 third-team award. Winters is just the 16th freshman outside hitter nationally in the last 16 years to earn a spot on one of the first three All-America teams.

This is the third time in program history that Creighton has had multiple women honored with All-America honors following the same season, joining 2012 (honorable-mention picks Megan Bober and Kelli Browning) and 2013 (honorable-mention picks Kelli Browning and Michelle Sicner).

Winters exploded onto the scene in her rookie season, as the Ankeny, Iowa, native rewrote the CU record book. She established marks for kills (546) and attack attempts (1,428) in a season while being named a unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST honoree, as well as a unanimous selection as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Winters had 10 or more kills in 31-of-36 matches, including her final 19, and also led CU with 16 double-doubles. Winters also played her best in some of CU's biggest matches, leading the Bluejays in kills during all five BIG EAST and NCAA Tournament matches. Winters was also named the AVCA's East Region Freshman of the Year, though the National Freshman of the Year award went to Stanford's Haley Hodson.

Smith was named to an all-tournament team following all four preseason events in the fall, and would go on to lead the BIG EAST in both blocks per set (1.27) and hitting percentage (.343). The Lincoln, Neb., native led Creighton in blocks during 25 different matches during her junior season, and her 170 blocks rank eighth-most nationally.

Creighton went 27-9 in 2015, making an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance while reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time. The campaign included both a BIG EAST regular-season and Tournament title, the second straight season the program has won both.

Creighton is led by Kirsten Bernthal Booth, the AVCA's East Region Coach of the Year. The AVCA will announce its National Coach of the Year on Thursday.

Creighton Volleyball's All-America History
Third Team
Kelli Browning, 2014
Jaali Winters, 2015

Honorable-Mention
Kelly Goc, 2007
Jessica Houts, 2008
Megan Bober, 2010
Megan Bober, 2012
Kelli Browning, 2012
Kelli Browning, 2013
Lauren Smith, 2015

2015 AVCA DIVISION I FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

First Name	Last Name	School	Pos.	Year
Rhamat	Alhassan^	University of Florida	MB	SO
Samantha	Bricio^&	University of Southern California	OH	SR
Lauren	Carlini*&	University of Wisconsin	S	JR
Alexa	Gray^%	Brigham Young University	OH	SR
Ainise	Havili	University of Kansas	S	SO
Amy	Neal	University of Texas	OH	SR
Chiaka	Ogbogu*&	University of Texas	MB	JR
Kelsie	Payne	University of Kansas	RS	SO
Kadie	Rolfzen#%	University of Nebraska	RS	JR
Taylor	Sandbothe	Ohio State University	MB	JR
Daly	Santana	University of Minnesota	OH	SR
Lianna	Sybeldon#	University of Washington	MB	SR
Hannah	Tapp	University of Minnesota	MB	JR
Haleigh	Washington	Penn State University	MB	SO

2015 AVCA DIVISION I SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

First Name	Last Name	School	Pos.	Year
Jazzmin	Babers	Texas A&M University	MB	JR
Abby	Cole	University of Michigan	MB	JR
Megan	Courtney	Penn State University	OH	SR
Annie	Drews	Purdue University	RS	SR
Hayley	Hodson	Stanford University	RS	FR
Merete	Lutz^	Stanford University	MB	RS-SO
Haleigh	Nelson	University of Wisconsin	MB	JR
Caitlin	Nolan#	Iowa State University	L	SR
Alicia	Ogoms	University of Southern California	MB	SR
Paulina	Prieto Cerame	University of Texas	OH	JR
Amber	Rolfzen	University of Nebraska	MB	JR
Samantha	Seliger-Swenson	University of Minnesota	S	FR
Nikki	Taylor	University of Hawai'i	RS	JR
Aiyana	Whitney^	Penn State University	MB	SR

2015 AVCA DIVISION I THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

First Name	Last Name	School	Pos.	Year
Amy	Boswell	Brigham Young University	MB	JR
Madi	Bugg*&	Stanford University	S	SR
Elizabeth	Campbell	Ohio State University	OH	SR
Chloe	Collins	University of Texas	S	JR
Adrianna	Culbert	Colorado State University	S/RS	SR
Taylor	Formico	UCLA	L	JR
Alex	Holston*	University of Florida	RS	JR
Brittany	Howard	Stanford University	OH	SR
Olivia	Magill	University of Hawai'i	MB	SR
Molly	McCage#	University of Texas	MB	SR
Paige	Neuenfeldt	University of North Carolina	MB	SR
Paige	Tapp#	University of Minnesota	MB	JR
Jaali	Winters	Creighton University	OH	FR
Justine	Wong-Orantes	University of Nebraska	L	JR

* indicates 2014 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
^ indicates 2014 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
# indicates 2014 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection
$ indicates 2013 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
@ indicates 2013 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
% indicates 2013 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection
! indicates 2012 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection

2015 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Year: Hayley Hodson, Stanford, RS
2015 Division I AVCA Player of the Year: Will be announced on December 18 at the All-America/Players of the Year Banquet.

2015 AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-America

First Name	Last Name	School	Pos.	Year
Avery	Acker	Southern Methodist University	S	SR
Faye	Adelaja	Purdue University	MB	JR
Stephanie	Aiple	Texas A&M University	S	SO
Jordan	Anderson	UCLA	OH	JR
Alexis	Austin	University of Colorado	OH	SR
Kinsey	Batten	Missouri State University	S	SR
Sarah	Baugh	Boise State University	S	SR
Morgan	Bergren	University of Kentucky	S	SR
Jocelynn	Birks	University of Illinois	OH	SR
Savannah	Blinn	Gonzaga University	RS	SR
Katie	Brand	Kansas State University	S	JR
Sarah	Burrington	Florida State University	MB	JR
Alyssa	Cavanaugh	Western Kentucky University	OH	SO
Danielle	Cuttino	Purdue University	MB	SO
Mackenzie	Dagostino	University of Florida	S	SR
Carnae	Dillard	University of North Texas	OH	SR
Ashley	Dusek	University of Kentucky	L	SO
Adreene	Elliott	University of Maryland	OH	SR
Erin	Fairs	University of Louisville	OH	SR
Claire	Felix	UCLA	MB	JR
Mikaela	Foecke	University of Nebraska	OH	FR
Whitney	Follette	Arizona State University	RS	SR
Ali	Frantti	Penn State University	OH	SO
Lauren	Fuller	University of Virginia	S	SR
Katie	George	University of Louisville	S	SR
Danielle	Giordano	Southern Methodist University	MB	JR
Marion	Hazelwood	University of Oklahoma	MB	SO
Morgan	Heise	Southern Methodist University	L	JR
Nikki	Hess	Santa Clara University	OH	JR
Kaitlyn	Hickey	IUPUI	OH	SR
Kat	Hutson	University of Alabama	OH	SO
Kelly	Hunter	University of Nebraska	S	SO
Lily	Johnson	Missouri State University	OH	SO
Lisa	Kramer	University of San Diego	OH	RS-JR
Kadi	Kullerkann	University of Pittsburgh	RS	GR
Kira	Larson	University of Missouri	RS	RS-SO
Abbie	Lehman	Wichita State University	MB	SO
Taylor	Louis	Marquette University	OH	RS-FR
Jessica	Lucas	Western Kentucky University	S	SO
Carlisa	May	Arkansas State University	OH	SR
Victoria	McPherson	University of North Carolina	MH	SR
Taylor	Morey	University of Wisconsin	L	SR
Alyssa	Munlyn	University of Missouri	MB	FR
Gwen	Murphy	New Mexico State University	MB	SR
Sierra	Nobley	Boise State University	OH	SO
Amanda	Orchard	University of Pittsburgh	MH	SR
Taylor	Pippen	Southern Illinois University	MB	SR
Ziva	Recek	University of Florida	OH	SR
Katie	Reilly	Wichita State University	RS	SR
Krystal	Rivers	University of Alabama	RS	JR
Emily	Sklar	Duke University	OH	SR
Monika	Smidova	American University	S	SR
Lauren	Smith	Creighton University	MB	JR
Ashley	Smith	Texas Christian University	OH	JR
Penina	Snuka	University of Arizona	S	JR
Carli	Snyder	University of Florida	OH	SO
Sarah	Sponcil	Loyola Marymount University	OH	SO
Cassie	Strickland	University of Washington	L	SR
Shelby	Sullivan	Texas A&M University	MB	SR
Taylor	Treacy	University of North Carolina	RS	RS-JR
Teegan	Van Gunst	Georgia Tech University	OH	JR
Janae	Vander Ploeg	Northern Arizona University	OH	SR
Nicole	Walch	Florida State University	OH	SR
Taylor	Whittingham	University of Southern California	L	JR
Tionna	Williams	University of Wisconsin	MB	FR

AVCA First-Team All-America

Rhamat Alhassan, Florida, MB
Stats: 3.17 K/S, .422 Hitting %, 1.62 B/S
Two-time AVCA All-American (2014: First-Team)...Seventeenth First-Team All-American certificate for the Gators.

Samantha Bricio, Southern California, OH
Stats: 5.14 K/S, .299 Hitting %, 0.68 SA/S, 2.71 D/S, 0.64 B/S
Three-time AVCA All-American (2014: Second-Team, 2013: Second-Team)...Seventh player in USC history to be selected an AVCA All-American at least three times.

Lauren Carlini, Wisconsin, S
Stats: 11.91 A/S, 2.79 D/S, 0.82 B/S, .270 Team Hitting %
Three-time AVCA All-American (2014: First-Team, 2013: Second-Team)...Second player in program history to earn multiple AVCA First-Team All-American honors (2000-2001: Sherisa Livingson).

Alexa Gray, BYU, OH
Stats: 5.24 K/S, .298 Hitting Percentage, 2.44 D/S, 0.62 B/S
Three-time AVCA All-American (2014: Second-Team, 2013: Third-Team)...Only player in BYU history to be a three-time AVCA All-American.

Ainise Havili, Kansas, S
Stats: 12.23 A/S, 2.94 D/S, 0.41 B/S
Alongside teammate Kelsie Payne, are just the second and third All-Americans in program history and are the first first-teamers.

Amy Neal, Texas, OH
Stats: 4.22 K/S, .267 Hitting %, 2.34 D/S, 0.39 B/S
Twenty-eighth different AVCA All-American from the University of Texas...Seventeenth different Longhorn to be an AVCA First-Team All-American.

Chiaka Ogbogu, Texas, MB
Stats: 2.82 K/S, .411 Hitting %, 1.21 B/S
Three-time AVCA All-American (2014: First-Team, 2013: Second-Team)...Seventh three-time AVCA All-American in Longhorn history.

Kelsie Payne, Kansas, RS
Stats: 4.35 K/S, .379 Hitting %, 0.76 B/S
Alongside teammate Ainise Havili, are just the second and third All-Americans in program history and are the first first-teamers.

Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska, RS
Stats: 3.34 K/S, .279 Hitting %, 2.86 D/S, 0.84 B/S
Three-time AVCA All-American (2014: Third-Team, 2013: Third-Team)...Twelfth Husker to earn AVCA All-American honors at least three times.

Taylor Sandbothe, Ohio State, MB
Stats: 2.96 K/S, .366 Hitting %, 1.26 B/S
Fifth different first-teamer in program history.

Daly Santana, Minnesota, OH
Stats: 4.50 K/S, .253 Hitting %, 2.92 D/S, 0.46 B/S
Alongside teammates Hannah Tapp and Samantha Seliger-Swenson, are 16^th, 17^th and 18th different Gophers to be named an AVCA All-American...Eighth and 9th different first-teamers.

Lianna Sybeldon, Washington, MB
Stats: 2.56 K/S, .449 Hitting %, 1.37 B/S
Two-time AVCA All-American (2014: Third-Team)...Eleventh Husky to earn All-American honors multiple times...Tenth different player to make the first-team.

Hannah Tapp, Minnesota, MB
Stats: 2.84 K/S, .349 Hitting %, 1.08 B/S
Alongside teammates Paige Tapp and Samantha Seliger-Swenson, are 16^th, 17^th and 18th different Gophers to be named an AVCA All-American...Eighth and 9th different first-teamers.

Haleigh Washington, Penn State, MB
Stats: 2.62 K/S, .443 Hitting %, 1.40 B/S
Twentieth different Nittany Lion to garner AVCA First-Team All-American honors.

AVCA Second-Team All-America

Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M, MB
Stats: 3.17 K/S, .412 Hitting %, 1.37 B/S
Eighth different Aggie to be an AVCA All-American...The program's first since Sarah Ammerman in 2009.

Abby Cole, Michigan, MB
Stats: 3.18 K/S, .318 Hitting %, 1.02 B/S
Sixth Wolverine to garner AVCA All-American status...Just the second player to at least make the second-team (Lexi Zimmerman).

Megan Courtney, Penn State, OH
Stats: 3.04 K/S, .241 Hitting %, 3.03 D/S, 0.83 B/S
Thirty-first different Nittany Lion to earn AVCA All-American honors.

Annie Drews, Purdue, RS
Stats: 4.24 K/S, .252 Hitting %, 1.72 D/S, 0.69 B/S
Seventh different Boilermaker to be named an AVCA All-American...The first since Val Nichol in 2013.

Hayley Hodson, Stanford, RS
Stats: 3.82 K/S, .261 Hitting %, 2.42 D/S, 0.71 B/S
Alongside teammate Britany Howard, become the 32^nd + 33^rd different Cardinal to make All-American status...The 33 ranks second all-time behind Nebraska's 40.

Merete Lutz, Stanford, MB
Stats: 3.22 K/S, .388 Hitting %, 1.24 B/S
Two consecutive AVCA Second-Team All-America appearances.

Haleigh Nelson, Wisconsin, MB
Stats: 2.62 K/S, .422 Hitting %, 1.23 B/S
Eighteenth different player in program history to garner AVCA All-American honors.

Caitlin Nolan, Iowa State, L
Stats: 5.78 D/S, .209 Team Opponent Hitting %
Two-time AVCA All-American (2014: Third-Team)...Of the seven all-time All-Americans, six of them have been honored multiple times.

Alicia Ogoms, Southern California, MB
Stats: 2.01 K/S, .413 Hitting %, 1.44 B/S
Twenty-ninth different AVCA All-American in program history.

Paulina Prieto Cerame, Texas, OH
Stats: 3.01 K/S, .275 Hitting %, 0.53 B/S
2015 marks the first year she has won any individual AVCA honor.

Amber Rolfzen, Nebraska, MB
Stats: 2.31 K/S, .358 Hitting %, 1.61 B/S
One of 40 AVCA All-Americans in program history, which are the most all-time.

Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Minnesota, S
Stats: 11.69 A/S, 2.13 D/S, 0.48 B/S
Last year was an Under Armour First-Team All-American and played in the Under Armour Match & Skills Competition...The only setter to make the second-team.

Nikki Taylor, Hawai'i, RS
Stats: 4.46 K/S, .271 Hitting %, 0.42 SA/S, 2.10 D/S, 1.10 B/S
Alongside teammate Oliva Magill, are the 28^th and 29th different players in program history to be an AVCA All-American.

Aiyana Whitney, Penn State, MB
Stats: 3.11 K/S, .356 Hitting %, 1.12 B/S
Two-time AVCA All-American (2014: Second-Team).

AVCA Third-Team All-America

Amy Boswell, BYU, MB
Stats: 2.61 K/S, .365 Hitting %, 1.41 B/S
Eighteenth player in program history to earn AVCA All-American honors.

Madi Bugg, Stanford, S
Stats: 11.05 A/S, 2.53 D/S, 0.75 B/S, .279 Team Hitting %
Three-time AVCA All-American (2014: First-Team, 2013: Second-Team)...Fifteenth Cardinal to earn AVCA All-American honors at least three times.

Elizabeth Campbell, Ohio State, OH
Stats: 3.68 K/S, .244 Hitting %, 2.20 D/S, 0.58 B/S
Alongside teammate Taylor Sandbothe, become 13^th and 14^th different Buckeyes to garner AVCA All-American honors.

Chloe Collins, Texas, S
Stats: 11.36 A/S, 1.92 D/S, 0.50 B/S, .308 Team Hitting %
One of five Longhorns named in this year's AVCA All-America class, which are the most from any one school.

Adrianna Culbert, Colorado State, S/RS
Stats: 2.71 K/S, .318 Hitting %, 2.58 D/S, 0.84 B/S
Thirteenth different Ram to garner AVCA All-American honors.

Taylor Formico, UCLA, L
Stats: 4.50 D/S, .180 Opponent Team Hitting %
Twenty-ninth different player to win an AVCA All-American award for UCLA.

Alex Holston, Florida, RS
Stats: 3.26 K/S, .305 Hitting %, 1.72 D/S, 0.61 B/S
Second consecutive AVCA First-Team All-American honor...Alongside her teammate Rhamat Alhassan, become the 10^th and 11^th players to be a multi-time AVCA All-American.

Brittany Howard, Stanford, OH
Stats: 3.05 K/S, .304 Hitting %, 1.98 D/S, 0.63 D/S
Alongside teammate Hayley Hodson, become the 32^nd + 33^rd different Cardinal to make All-American status...The 33 ranks second all-time behind Nebraska's 40.

Olivia Magill, Hawai'i, MB
2.65 K/S, .412 Hitting %, 1.44 B/S
Alongside teammate Nikki Taylor, are the 28^th and 29th different players in program history to be an AVCA All-American.

Molly McCage, Texas, MB
Stats: 2.13 K/S, .377 Hitting %, 1.01 B/S
Two-time AVCA All-American (2014: Third-Team).

Paige Neuenfeldt, UNC, MB
Stats: 2.71 K/S, .289 Hitting %, 1.00 B/S
Third AVCA All-American in program history...Two of their three have come in the last two years.

Paige Tapp, Minnesota, MB
Stats: 2.26 K/S, .319 Hitting %, 1.18 B/S
Second consecutive year Tapp has been selected an AVCA Third-Team All-American.

Jaali Winters, Creighton, OH
Stats: 4.07 K/S, .232 Hitting %, 2.49 D/S, 0.44 B/S
The second AVCA All-American in program history...The other was Kelli Browning a year ago (Third-Team).

Justine Wong-Orantes, Nebraska, L
Stats: 4.53 D/S, .171 Opponent Team Hitting %
Part of 2015 class with three Huskers...One of 40 AVCA All-Americans in Nebraska history, which are the most in Division I.

Volleyball's Winters & Smith Named AVCA All-Americans

Players Mentioned

Kelli Browning

Michelle Sicner

Lauren Smith

Jaali Winters

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