Three Mustangs Earn AVCA All-America Honorable Mention Awards
Dec 16 | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. (SMU/AVCA) – The SMU volleyball program accomplished another first this season, as three players were recognized by the AVCA All-America Committee. Avery Acker, Janelle Giordano and Morgan Heise each earned All-America Honorable Mention awards after a record-setting season for the Mustangs.
Avery Acker picked up her third consecutive All-America Honorable Mention accolade after setting an SMU and American Athletic Conference record with 1,482 assists, leading the NCAA with 12.45 assists per set. She guided the Mustangs to a school-record .245 attack percentage. The Poth, Texas, native was named CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Setter of the Year for the second time in three seasons. She set a conference record with 67 assists in a five-set win against TCU, and finished her career second at SMU with 4,321 assists.
Morgan Heise earned the first national award of her career after setting an SMU and American Athletic Conference record with 721 digs, second most in the NCAA this year, and was third in the country with 6.06 digs per set, also a school and conference single-season record. The junior from Hempstead, Texas, was named conference Libero of the Year for the second straight season.
Janelle Giordano became an All-America Honorable Mention award winner after finishing second in the NCAA with an SMU and American Athletic Conference record 188 total blocks. She also set a new school and conference mark with 1.58 blocks per set, fifth in the nation. The junior from Keller, Texas, set an SMU record with a .393 attack percentage, scoring 300 kills. Giordano was named to the all-conference first team, earning the third all-conference award of her career.
The trio led SMU to a program-record 27 wins, including a school-record 16 straight, and finished 17-3 in the American Athletic Conference to win the regular-season championship and advance to the NCAA Championship. The Mustangs finished the season 27-6 overall.
