Sands and Iliff Named to Academic All-District Volleyball Team
12/17/2024 11:00:00 AM | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Volleyball student-athletes Maya Sands and Jordan Iliff were selected to the 2024 Academic All-District Volleyball Team, the College Sports Communicators announced Tuesday.
The 2024 Academic All-District Volleyball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.
Sands and Iliff both earned the distinction for the second-straight season and second time in their collegiate careers. Missouri now has 15 CoSIDA/CSC All-District players.
Junior libero Maya Sands was selected to her second career Academic All-District Volleyball Team Tuesday.
The Rock Falls, Illinois, native, has a 3.84 GPA and is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Parks, Recreation, & Sport: Sport Management at Mizzou. Academically, she was listed on the 2023 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll.
The 2024 AVCA Central All-Region selection led the SEC with 4.53 digs per set and ranked second in the league with 535 total digs (35th in the NCAA) this season.
Sands eclipsed the double-digit dig mark in all but one contest this season. Her 535 digs this campaign will go down sixth all-time for a single season at Mizzou.
Most recently, the back-to-back SEC Libero of the Year (2023 & 2024) notched double-digit digs in all three of Mizzou's matches at the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Sands recorded an NCAA Tournament personal-best 20 digs in the First Round against Texas State (Dec. 5). She also had 14 digs and five assists at SMU (Dec. 6) and notched 13 digs against Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Dec. 12.
Sands ranked second during the conference slate with 4.49 digs per set (292 digs) to earn SEC Libero of the Year and All-SEC honors for the second-straight season. She also had 15 aces in 2024.
She compiled a career-best matching 30 digs twice in 2024, against Mississippi State (Oct. 20) and at Arkansas (Oct. 25).
Sands notched her second career double-double versus MSU (Oct. 20), adding 10 assists to go with her 30 digs.
She also surpassed 1,000 career digs this season (1,489 career digs, 1,077 career digs at Mizzou).
Senior right side hitter Jordan Iliff was named to her second career Academic All-District Volleyball Team Tuesday.
The St. Louis, native, currently has a 3.55 GPA and is studying Health Science at Missouri. Academically, she has been named to the 2023 and 2022 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and 2021-22 First-Year Academic SEC Honor Roll.
Iliff, a 2024 AVCA Central All-Region selection, ranks fifth in the SEC for points (546.5, 4.63 points/set, 10th in SEC) and seventh for kills (449, 3.81 kills/set, 11th in SEC).
She has also recorded a Mizzou single-season record 68 aces which led the SEC (sixth in the NCAA, 0.58 aces/set, eighth in NCAA).
Iliff most recently tallied 20 kills on .341 hitting with nine digs and two aces in Mizzou's 2024 NCAA Sweet 16 match against Kentucky (Dec. 12). For Iliff, it marked a career-best in NCAA Tournament play.
She also had 11 (.348) and 16 kills over Mizzou's First and Second Round matches at the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Dallas. She added 10 digs to complement the 16-kill outing for her 15th double-double of the season at SMU.
Iliff has totaled double-digit kills in all but five matches (26 of 31). She finished in double-digits offensively in 15 of the last 17 matches.
Iliff ranked first in SEC play with 32 aces (0.49 aces/set) for 2024 All-SEC honors. Her career-best nine aces against Texas A&M (Sept. 29) set a new Mizzou single-match record.
Iliff was second on Mizzou during SEC play with 231 kills (3.55 kills/set), 158 digs (2.43 digs/set) and 283.0 points (4.35 points/set).
She was pegged SEC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 16 & Oct. 14) twice in 2024. Iliff was also named to the 2024 SEC Volleyball Community Service Team.
Iliff registered a career best 24 kills against Illinois (Sept. 20) and personal best 21 digs vs. Tennessee (Oct. 13).
She surpassed 1,000 career kills, 500 career digs, 100 career aces and 100 career matches at Mizzou in 2024. She completed her Mizzou career 10th all-time for kills (1,237) and seventh for aces (124).
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