OGDEN, Utah (November 20, 2018) – Redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson headlined four Northern Arizona volleyball players selected to the 2018 All-Big Sky Conference teams announced by the league office Tuesday morning. Jorgenson was voted as the Big Sky Co-Most Valuable Player, sharing the league's top award with Idaho State's Abby Garrity, in addition to being named to the all-conference first team.
Jorgenson was accompanied on the All-Big Sky First Team by junior
Abby Akin and sophomore
Heaven Harris, marking only the second time in program history that NAU placed three players on the first team for only the second time following the 2015 team. Jorgenson and Akin repeated as first team all-conference performers, while Harris' selection was her first after earning second team honors last season.
Freshman
Ryann Davis was the Lumberjacks' fourth honoree, earning a place on the All-Big Sky Second Team. Davis was also voted the conference's Outstanding Freshman, as NAU – the Big Sky co-regular season champions – became the first school to produce three consecutive Outstanding Freshman awardees in league history. Akin (2016) and Harris (2017) won the award each of the previous two seasons.
With Jorgenson and Davis' selections as Co-MVP and Outstanding Freshman respectively, NAU is the first school to receive both awards since Northern Colorado did so in 2011.
"This team is so unselfish, and that's the greatest thing about this," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Our four all-conference players give to the team first and when you do, these individual awards take care of themselves. It's such a great honor for them and I know they're appreciative of the other head coaches for recognizing the hard work they've put in."
Jorgenson is the fourth Lumberjack to receive the Big Sky's MVP award, joining Jenny Treglown (1997), Maggie Barrera (2000) and Janae Vander Ploeg (2015).
Jorgenson has consistently been one of the Big Sky's best all-around players, if not the best, this season with her numbers backing up that notion. She is the only player ranked in the top 10 of the league overall in both kills (3.08 per set) and digs (4.18 per set). In league play, Jorgenson averaged 3.18 kills and 4.39 digs per set in addition to ranking second in service aces with 30 and leading all players with 18 solo blocks.
The outside hitter from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan leads the entire conference with 21 double-doubles and received a league-high three Big Sky Player of the Week awards.
Like Jorgenson, Akin was a First Team selection for the second consecutive year after leading the conference with a .447 hitting percentage in league matches. Akin's .402 overall hitting percentage, also a league-best, currently ranks her 10th in the nation. The Phoenix native also ranks third with 0.38 aces per set and sixth with 1.09 blocks per set.
Akin, now one of 11 players with three career all-conference honors, is averaging a career-best 2.59 kills per set. The middle blocker leads the team with 42 service aces and 122 blocks.
Harris was terminal from her right side position all season long, ranking second on the team with 2.80 kills per set while hitting .264. She continued to be a strong blocker, posting 75 blocks at an average of 0.63 per set placing her third on the team. Along with Jorgenson and Akin, the three Lumberjacks are the only players this season to receive both an Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week award.
The Phoenix product's 17 double-digit kill matches is only bested by Jorgenson's 21 on the team this season.
Davis had an excellent freshman season, particularly once the schedule flipped to league play. In her first 15 conference matches, Davis averaged 2.53 kills per set and hit .290 before moving into the back row. Davis displayed her versatility in the final three matches of the season, moving away from her customary position on the right side to the back row where she averaged over two digs a set.
For the season, the frosh from Chandler, Ariz. averaged 1.96 kills, 0.70 digs and 0.49 blocks per set. She hit .245 and led all Big Sky freshmen in kills for the majority of the season until her move to the back row.
"I look at how many players we had recognized and none of their motivation was to make all-conference," Murphy added. "They thought about their teammates first, and it's amazing how great things come out of that."
