LEXINGTON, Ky. – WKU junior Lauren Matthews was tabbed an AVCA Second Team All-American, Conference USA’s highest All-American distinction since 2017, and Rice senior Nicole Lennon received Third Team recognition, the organization announced Wednesday. Hilltoppers sophomore Paige Briggs and senior Nadia Dieudonne were also named Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. The AVCA All-America Honorable Mentions are selected in combination with all players named Conference Player of the Year and a group of 30 additional athletes identified by the All-America Committee. The Division I AVCA National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year will be announced on April 22.
Fresh off No. 18 WKU’s first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in program history, and C-USA’s first since 2004, Matthews joins the late 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.
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). This season’s award marks the second-consecutive All-American honor for Matthews, who was an Honorable Mention selection during the 2019 campaign.
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.
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. Her 287 total kills ranked 54th in all of NCAA Volleyball this season.
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. Briggs’ and Dieudonne’s are the first All-American honors of their careers as both are in their second seasons on The Hill.
Rice outside hitter Lennon became the Owls’ first Third Team All-American selection in program history. Lennon, who was an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention in both 2018 and 2019, joins Sammy Waldron (1995-Secon Team All-American) as the only players in Rice history to be named to any of the prestigious AVCA First, Second, or Third Team All-American lists.
Under the guidance of this year’s AVCA Southwest Region Coach of the Year, Genny Volpe, Lennon was selected to the AVCA Southwest Region Team for the third consecutive year in her prestigious career. She won her second Conference USA Player of the Year award and was selected to the C-USA First Team for a third straight year as well. Lennon ranks second among all active NCAA Division I players in both career kills (1,742) and total attacks (4,581). Lennon and the No. 24 ranked Owls (16-5, 12-0) earned their second consecutive NCAA Tournament at-large bid this past season and won the C-USA West Division title.