Anna DeBeer Voted AVCA East Region Player of the Year; Seven Receive Regional Honors
December 05, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- University of Louisville outside hitter Anna DeBeer was voted East Region Player of the Year as the AVCA announced its 2023 Division I Women's Volleyball All-Region teams and award winners. The Cardinals placed six players on the First Team All-East Region: Cara Cresse, Anna DeBeer, Elle Glock, Aiko Jones, Charitie Luper and Elena Scott. Phekran Kong was named to the Honorable Mention All-East Region squad.
There are 14 All-Region team members and additional honorable mention selections for each of the 10 regions. The regions also selected a Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year for 2023
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The more than 200 student-athletes who made All-Region represent 103 different schools, led by the University of Louisville and the University of Pittsburgh with seven selections each.
A quick peek at the Cards:
First Team All-East Region. Second on team in kills (296) and points (343.5). 3.02 kills per set against all opponents improved to 3.16 vs. Top 50 opponents. 17 matches with double digit kills, including season-high 24 at Pittsburgh. Recorded four double-doubles with 12 K and 11 D vs. Wright St.; 12 K and season-high 15 D vs. #5 Stanford; 24 K and 13 D at #7 Pittsburgh; 12 kills and 13 digs vs. #12 Georgia Tech. Four matches hitting .400+ with 10+ kills: .429 vs. #21 Washington St. (10-1-21), .550 vs. South Dakota (11-0-20), .407 vs. Duke (13-2-27), .500 vs. North Carolina (10-0-20). 19 matches with double-digit points, including seven with 15+ and season high of 25 at #7 Pittsburgh. Season highs of two assists, two aces, three blocks.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 20 kills, .202 HP, 15 digs, 6 blks, 23.5 pts; 9 kills, 9 digs, 4 blks. vs. Wright St.; 11 kills, 6 digs, 2 blks vs. Western Mich.
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#5 Elle Glock
First Team All-East Region. No. 50 in assists per set (10.22), No. 93 in total assists (981) in Division I. Leveled up against Top 50 opponents, as 550 of her assists came in those matches with 10.78 assists per set. Season-high 60 assists at #7 Pittsburgh. Named ACC Setter of the Week on four occasions. Led Louisville to #10 hitting percentage nationally at .286. Four double-doubles on the year: 36 A and 11 D vs. Wright St., 31 A and 10 D at Duke, 34 A and 10 D vs. Florida State, 30 A and 10 D vs. Duke. Totaled 25 blocks, 23 kills, and 18 aces to add to her prolific setting. Season-high five blocks at Dayton, season-high three kills at Duke. Five matches of two or more aces.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 61 assists, 19 digs, 2 blks, 1 ace; 35 assists, 8 digs, 1 blk vs. Wright St.; 26 assists, 11 digs, 1 blk, 1 ace vs. Western Mich.
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#10 Phekran Kong
HM AVCA All-East Region. Played in 94 sets, totaling 170 kills while hitting .310 on top of 93 blocks and 15 digs and earning 227.5 points. 86 of those kills came vs. Top 50 opponents while she hit .395. Career-high 9 blocks vs. Wright St. in the first round, team-high 5 blks vs. Western Mich. in second round action. Career-high 13 kills at #10 Georgia Tech. Seven matches of double-digit points, with career-high 17 points at Notre Dame. Extremely efficient swinging, with .500+ hitting % in five matches: .500 vs. #21 Washington St. (6-1-10), .545 vs. Wright St. (8-2-11), .500 at Notre Dame (12-2-20), .526 at Wake Forest (10-0-19), .667 vs. North Carolina (6-0-9). Season-high seven blocks at Notre Dame. Recorded five blocks in both of Louisville's final two matches, at #7 Pittsburgh and vs. #12 Georgia Tech.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 16 kills, 14 blks, 2 digs, 25 pts; 9 kills, 9 blks, 1 dig vs. Wright St.; 7 kills, 5 blks, 1 dig vs. Western Mich.
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#13 Cara Cresse
First Team All-East Region. Led team in blocks (95.0) and hitting percentage (.437). #5 nationally in hitting percentage. Team-high .396 hitting % and 43 blocks vs. Top 50 opponents. Hit .500 with 13 kills and 5 blocks vs. Wright St. in the first round, continued her success with nine kills on .5.38 hitting and 3 blocks in the second round vs. Western Mich. Named ACC Defensive Player of the Week 1x. Posted several career-highs: 12 kills vs. Boston College, 16 points at Missouri and at Dayton, 3 aces vs. Penn State, 7 digs at North Carolina, 8 blocks at Dayton and vs. North Carolina. 10 matches hitting .500+, including .917 vs. Troy (11-0-12), 1.000 vs. NKU (6-0-6), at Duke (7-1-9), vs. #8 Pittsburgh (10-1-14), vs. North Carolina (8-0-12). 18 matches in double-digit points, including 10 with 12+ points. Eight matches of 5+ blocks.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 22 kills, .519 HP, 8 blks, 27 pts; 13 kills, .500 HP, 5 blks vs. Wright St.; 9 kills, .538 HP, 3 blks vs. Western Mich.
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#14 Anna DeBeer
East Region Player of the Year and first team All-East Region...ACC Player of the Year ...Led team in kills (343), points (383.5), and double doubles (11). Went to the next level vs. Top 50 opponents, leading in kills (199), aces (14), and points (222) in 14 matches. #141 nationally in kills per set at 3.46. Named ACC Offensive Player of the Week 2x. Tallied career-highs of 29 kills and 30 points at #7 Pittsburgh and five aces at Wake Forest. Season-high 17 digs at #7 Pittsburgh. Nine matches of 15+ kills, including 19 vs. Wright St., 24 at Dayton, 29 at #7 Pittsburgh, 18 vs. #12 Georgia Tech. Was Final Four All-Tournament Team and All-Louisville Regional MVP in 2022, All-Louisville Regional Team and All-ACC First Team in 2021, ACC Freshman of the Year and All-ACC First Team in 2020.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 17 kills, .200 HP, 20 digs, 2 blks, 1 ace, 19 pts; 8 kills, 11 digs, 1 ace vs. Wright St.; 9 kills, .350 HP, 9 digs, 2 blks vs. Western Mich.
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#15 Aiko Jones
All-East Region. Totaled 219 kills, 218.5 points, 23 aces, 124 digs, 72 blocks while starting every match. Season-high 15 kills and 18 points at Clemson, three aces vs. Miami, seven blocks vs. South Dakota, 10 digs at #8 Pittsburgh. Thrived vs. Top 50 opponents, being third on team in kills (120), third in points (149), second in aces (11), third in blocks (27). Eight matches with double-digit kills. seven matches hitting .500+, including .700 vs. South Dakota (7-0-10), .545 at Missouri (7-1-11), .556 vs. Miami (10-0-18), .520 at Clemson (15-2-25), .600 vs. North Carolina (6-0-10). Team captain for three consecutive seasons. Final Four All-Tournament Team in 2022, AVCA First Team All-East Region in 2022 and 2021, All-ACC First Team in 2022, 2020, and 2019.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 12 kills, 12 digs, 6 blks; 7 kills, 7 digs, 3 blks, 2 aces vs. Wright St.; 5 kills, 5 digs, 3 blks. vs. Western Mich.
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#19 Elena Scott
First Team All-East Region. Led team in digs (443) and aces (30) and was second in assists (109). 61st nationally in digs per set at 4.43. Even better vs. Top 50 opponents, with 4.76 digs per set. An impressive 21 digs in the opening round vs. Wright St. followed by 22 digs vs. Western Mich. in second round. Named ACC Defensive Player of the Week 2x. Career-highs of 29 digs at NC State, nine assists at Dayton. 16 matches of 15+ digs, seven matches of 20+: 21 vs. Wright St., 20 at Dayton, 23 vs. Boston College, 29 at NC State, 22 vs. Florida State, 24 at #10 Georgia Tech, 24 at #7 Pittsburgh. AVCA Second-Team All-American, East Region First Team, All-ACC First Team in 2022. East Region First Team, All-ACC Second Team in 2021.
NCAA Tournament Stats: 43 digs, 12 assists, two aces; 21 digs, 5 assists vs. Wright St.; 22 digs, 7 assists, two aces vs. Western Mich.
