LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off the first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in program history, WKU Volleyball saw another first achieved by a Hilltopper a few days later as Lauren Matthews earned the first AVCA Second Team All-American distinction, the organization announced Wednesday. Paige Briggs and Nadia Dieudonne were both tabbed AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Matthews joins Alyssa Cavanaugh as the only players in WKU Volleyball history to be recognized on one of the AVCA's three All-American lists. Cavanaugh was a third team selection following her senior campaign in 2017.
Together, Briggs, Dieudonne and Matthews helped the Red and White continue to rewrite the record book. The squad's 2020-21 record of 23-1 will go down as the best season win percentage (.958), the fewest losses, and the best undefeated start to a season (23-0) – just to name a few. The Hilltoppers also swept 18 matches across the season.
The trio also collected AVCA All-Region, C-USA First Team All-Conference and C-USA All-Tournament Team accolades.
Matthews closed the season with a .444 hitting percentage (8th in NCAA) with 309 kills (36th in NCAA) and 3.96 kills per set (67th in NCAA) to accompany her 1.22 blocks per set (53rd in NCAA). She tallied the second-most kills in a three-set match by all Division I players (25) and the second-best single-match hitting percentage for players with 20 or more attempts (.828) in the same match against Charlotte. The Indianapolis, Ind., native also racked up 30 solo blocks across the season, the second-most in all of NCAA Volleyball.
This season's award marks the second-consecutive All-American honor for Matthews, who was an Honorable Mention selection during the 2019 campaign.
Briggs' and Dieudonne's are the first All-American honors of their careers as both are in their second seasons on The Hill.
After earning the AVCA South Region Player of the Year accolade, Briggs earned a spot on the AVCA's Honorable Mention All-American list. A six-rotation outside hitter for the Hilltoppers, Briggs averaged 3.68 kills per set while hitting .329 all while leading the team in digs at 3.41 digs per set. The Ortonville, Mich., native also added 21 aces (0.27/set) and 34 blocks (0.44/set) to her stellar numbers. Her 287 total kills ranked 54th in all of NCAA Volleyball this season.
Facilitating the WKU offense to the second-best hitting percentage in the country, setter Dieudonne earned the first All-American distinction of her career. The Louisville, Ky., native led WKU to a .344 team hitting percentage while averaging 11.68 assists per set – which ranks fourth in the NCAA. Despite the Hilltoppers' sweeping a 75 percent of their matches and playing a shorter schedule, Dieudonne's total assist number of 911 still ranked sixth in the country.
Dieudonne added 130 digs (1.67/set) and 34 blocks (0.44/set) in addition to 35 kills and 12 aces across her second season at WKU after transferring in.
The 2020-21 accolades mark just the second time the Hilltopper program has seen a trio of athletes earn All-American status joining the 2017 campaign. That season, Cavanaugh earned third team honors while Jessica Lucas and Rachel Anderson were both tabbed Honorable Mention selections.
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.
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