Lawless Republic
Fansided

BYU Women’s Volleyball: Six Cougars named All-American, Gneiting Freshman of the Year

By Shaun Gordon

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: A general view of the centre court net prior to the VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International at Horse Guards Parade on August 12, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: A general view of the centre court net prior to the VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International at Horse Guards Parade on August 12, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

During one of their best seasons in program history, BYU Women’s Volleyball had six players honored as All-Americans and one earned national Freshman of the Year.

The awards are rolling in for BYU Women’s Volleyball players.

It should come as no surprise, considering the Cougars spent most of the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, only lost one game the entire year, and punched their ticket to the Final Four.

As a result, six Cougars earned All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and Heather Gneiting also earned Freshman of the Year.

Here’s the full list of BYU’s honors:

  • Veronica Jones-Perry – First Team All-American
  • Lyndie Haddock-Eppich – First Team All-American
  • Mary Lake – Second Team All-American
  • Heather Gneiting – Third Team All-American, Freshman of the Year
  • Kennedy Eschenberg – Honorable Mention All-American
  • McKenna Miller – Honorable Mention All-American

It’s the first time in the program’s history that six Cougars have earned All-American honors from the AVCA.

Jones-Perry is a national Player of the Year candidate who led the Cougars with 4.88 kills per set (No. 4 nationally) while hitting .343. She also leads BYU with 42 service aces (No. 40 nationally) and has added 197 digs and 71 blocks. Last year Jones-Perry was named to the All-American Third Team.

Haddock-Eppich anchors the Cougars with her serving, averaging 11.27 assists per set (No. 18 nationally). She’s also second on the team with 260 digs and has 84 kills of her own.

Lake patrols the BYU back line at Libero, and led the cougars with  3.91 digs per set. She received Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2017.

Gneiting has been a force at middle blocker. Her 1.53 blocks per set leads the Cougars and places her at No. 8 nationally. She also sits at No. 17 in the country with a .393 hitting percentage.

Eschenberg isn’t far behind Gneiting in blocks (1.33 per set), and she’s added 200 kills on .353 hitting.

Before her season ending injury, Miller was second on the team with 3.25 kills per set on .307 hitting, also adding 38 blocks and 53 digs.

All five healthy All-Americans will have to bring their best to Minneapolis. The Cougars face a rematch with No. 1 Stanford in Thursday’s Final Four

. If BYU can get past the Cardinal they’ll play in the championship game for the second time in five years.

Next. BYU Football: Scouting the Schedule - Western Michigan. dark

NCAA National Semifinal

No. 4 BYU vs. No. 1 Stanford – Thursday, December 13th at 5:00pm MT (ESPN)

Home/BYU Cougars