LEXINGTON, Ky. – Awards continued to roll in for WKU Volleyball as Lauren Matthews was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) South Region Player of the Year in addition to four Hilltoppers earning All-Region status and a fifth collecting honorable mention recognition.
Matthews made program history once again, becoming the only Hilltopper to ever repeat as an AVCA Region Player of the Year. The middle hitter also earned the honor following the 2019 campaign. Matthews, along with Paige Briggs and Nadia Dieudonne each landed All-Region accolades for the third-straight season while Kayland Jackson earned the first All-Region honor of her career. Katie Isenbarger landed Honorable Mention All-Region as well.
WKU AVCA ALL-REGION AWARD BREAKDOWN
· Matthews – Region Player of the Year, All-Region
· Briggs – All-Region
· Dieudonne – All-Region
· Jackson – All-Region
· Isenbarger – Honorable Mention All-Region
The NCAA's hitting percentage leader, Matthews worked at a .480 efficiency this season while striking for 440 kills and 123 total blocks for averages of 4.54 and 1.27 per set, respectively. The Indianapolis, Ind., native started all 97 sets for the Hilltoppers in the middle this season. Matthews tallied double-digit kills in 28 matches this season and posted 20 or more kills in five outings.
With Matthews' Region Player of the Year honor, WKU Volleyball has now seen a player win the award four of the last five seasons, beginning with Alyssa Cavanaugh in 2017.
Matthews also collected Conference USA Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors this season while earning First Team All-Conference, All-Tournament Team and Tournament MVP for the third-straight season. Briggs and Dieudonne each collected All-Region, First Team All-Conference and All-Tournament Team recognition for the third-consecutive season as well.
Briggs finished with a .268 hitting percentage on the year with 290 kills (2.99 per set) and 267 digs (2.75 per set). She added 34 blocks and 32 aces as well. Across 30 matches, Briggs tallied six double doubles. A primary passer for the Hilltoppers, the Ortonville, Mich., native recorded just 20 receiving errors in 353 attempts for a 94.9 reception rate this season. The six-rotation outside hitter racked up 13 double-digit kill outings along with 10 double-digit dig efforts this season. Briggs was also the AVCA South Region Player of the Year for the 2020-21 campaign this past spring.
A fifth-year setter, Dieudonne has earned three-straight All-Region honors after facilitating the second-best offense in the country to a .341 hitting percentage. Prior to transferring to WKU in 2019, the Louisville, Ky., native had never earned a collegiate award. The six-rotation setter started all 97 sets this season and averaged 11.48 assists per set, which led C-USA and ranks sixth in NCAA Volleyball. Dieudonne racked up 1,114 assists, despite the Hilltoppers sweeping 22 of 30 matches this season. She's added 1.78 digs per set, 41 blocks and 16 aces this season. Dieudonne earned 7-of-11 Setter of the Week honors this season, bringing her total to 18 in three seasons as a Hilltopper.
After landing All-Region Honorable Mention during the spring campaign, Jackson earned All-Region status in her final season on The Hill. Additionally, for the first time in her career, Jackson landed All-Conference honors for her efforts across the 2021 campaign, earning Second Team recognition. The fifth-year right side hitter played 96 of 97 sets this season, posting a .366 hitting percentage to go along with 63 blocks (0.66 per set). She recorded 17 matches with seven or more kills and 12 matches of hitting .400 percent or better in addition to 12 matches with three or more blocks. Jackson finished with double-digit kills in nine matches.
Isenbarger also earned Second Team All-Conference for the second-consecutive season and was tabbed to Honorable Mention All-Region for her efforts. She appeared in 96 of 97 sets this season while operating at a .385 hitting percentage and averaging 1.00 blocks per set. Isenbarger, a native of Zionsville, Ind., racked up 160 kills this season with 1.67 kills per set to go along with 96 total blocks. From the service line, the senior middle hitter struck for 12 aces and recorded 46 digs. Isenbarger recorded seven or more kills in nine matches and hit .400 or better on 14 occasions. She also turned in eight blocks in four set wins over Wake Forest and Florida Atlantic.
Isenbarger, as well as Briggs, were both also named to Conference USA's volleyball All-Academic Team this season for their efforts in the classroom and on the court.
For the second-consecutive season, WKU Volleyball saw a program-record four Hilltoppers earn All-Region status with a fifth collecting honorable mention status.
How to Follow WKU Volleyball: For complete information on WKU Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUVolleyball and head coach Travis Hudson at @TravisHudsonWKU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- Big Red
- CHAMPIONS CLIMB HERE
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
