COLUMBIA, Mo. – Three University of Missouri Volleyball student-athletes were named 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, the organization announced Wednesday.
Graduate outside hitter Mychael Vernon was tabbed an AVCA Third-Team All-American while senior right side hitter Jordan Iliff and junior libero Maya Sands were selected AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans.
The trio of Tigers are the 25th, 26th, and 27th All-Americans in Mizzou program history since 2000. Vernon, Iliff and Sands are Mizzou's first All-Americans since Kylie Deberg earned Second-Team honors over the 2020 campaign.
Mizzou last had three All-Americans in 2016 when Melanie Crow (Third-Team), Carly Kan (Honorable Mention) and Alyssa Munlyn (Honorable Mention) were recognized by the AVCA.
Missouri paced the SEC Wednesday with three All-American selections. The trio are head coach Dawn Sullivan's first All-American honorees at MU.
Mychael Vernon was named an All-American for the first time in her career Wednesday, as she appeared on the Third Team.
The outside hitter from Ossining, New York, ranked third in the SEC with 504 kills (4.27 kills/set, ninth in the SEC) and 561.5 points (4.76 points/set, ninth in the SEC) in 2024.
In the NCAA, Vernon ranks 24th for total kills and 31st for total points. She finished in double-digits kills in all but two matches this season (29 of 31) along with 13 double-doubles.
The 2024 SEC Newcomer of the Year and the 2024 AVCA Central Region Player of the Year registered a career-best 37 kills against Arkansas (Oct. 25) to set a new Mizzou single-match record.
Vernon logged back-to-back 20-kill matches in her NCAA Tournament debut posting 20 and 23 kills, respectively, in Dallas against Texas State (Dec. 5) and SMU (Dec. 6). She most recently posted 11 kills, six digs and two blocks for her third-straight 10-plus kill NCAA Tournament match in as many appearances (54 kills at 2024 NCAA Tournament) against Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Dec. 12.
Vernon ranked fourth in SEC play with 4.46 kills per set (290 kills) and 4.92 points per set (320.0 points). She was the top newcomer in the SEC for both categories. Vernon was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30.
Vernon concluded her collegiate career with 1,569 kills. Her career-best 504 kills in 2024 rank sixth in Mizzou history. Vernon also averaged 4.27 kills per set which ranks second for a career at MU.
Jordan Iliff was honored as an All-American for the first time in her career Wednesday, as she was listed as an Honorable Mention selection.
The right side hitter from St. Louis ranked 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).
Iliff, a 2024 AVCA Central All-Region selection, 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 totaled double-digit kills in all but five matches (26 of 31) this season. 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).
Maya Sands was recognized as an All-American for the first time in her career Wednesday, as she was tabbed an Honorable Mention selection.
The libero from Rock Falls, Illinois, 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, a 2024 AVCA Central All-Region selection, eclipsed the double-digit dig mark in all but one contest this season. Her 535 digs this campaign rank 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).
2024 AVCA All-Americans
Wednesday marked the AVCA's 43rd annual All-America teams for NCAA Division I women's volleyball.
The 2024 list includes 42 players—14 on the first, second, and third teams—from 25 schools. Pittsburgh leads the way with three first-team selections and four members on the first three teams, followed by Nebraska with two first-teamers and four total members. Creighton and Stanford each placed three players on the first three teams. There are an additional 55 players on honorable mention.
Thirteen student-athletes from the Southeastern Conference were named to the 2024 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Teams.
The AVCA Division I All-America Committee named Kennedy Martin of Florida and Brooklyn DeLeye of Kentucky to the First Team, as well as four SEC student-athletes to the Second Team and two to the Third Team. Six SEC student-athletes earned Honorable Mention honors.
The 2024 All-America selections were made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: Matt Ulmer, Oregon (chair); Branden Higa; Christy Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State; Kim Lambert, Delaware; Kelli Miller Phillips, Ball State; Rob Neilson, Utah State, Eve Rackham, Tennessee; Caitlin Schweihofer, Rutgers; Jackie Simpson Kirr, Clemson; JT Wenger, UT Arlington; and Leanne Williamson, South Dakota.
Freshman of the Year: Izzy Starck, Pennsylvania State University, S
Player of the Year: to be announced Friday, Dec. 20
Coach of the Year: to be announced Thursday, Dec. 19
Assistant Coach of the Year: to be announced Thursday, Dec. 19
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
• For all the latest information on Mizzou Volleyball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram, and Facebook.