2020 Women's Volleyball Roster
Tillman, Amaya
Jersey Number 25
Amaya Tillman
- Class:
- Sophomore
- Position:
- Middle Blocker
- High School:
- Shawnee Heights
- Hometown:
- Topeka, Kan.
Bio
2022:Â Amaya won the Elite 90 Award, an award that recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has achieved the highest athletic and academic standard. She was named an AVCA Third-Team All-American honoree and an AVCA East Regional First-Team honoree. The ACC Defensive Player of the Year led the ACC in blocks with 166 blocks and played in 114 sets. She notched 244 kills hitting .333, 19 aces, and 43 blocks to earn 357.0 points for the Cardinals. Her season-high 14 kills came in the win against Wake Forest. An offensive threat as deadly as she is on defense, she recorded 11 double-double kill matches. She was also extremely efficient, with 11 matches hitting over .500: (.643 vs. NKU 10-1-14), (.545 vs. Missouri 6-0-11), (.600 vs. Purdue 10-1-15), (.500 vs. Miami 7-1-12), (.579 vs. Boston College 11-0-19), (.526 vs. Virginia Tech 11-1-19), (.545 vs. UNC 7-1-11), (.556 vs. Pitt 6-1-9), (.500 vs. Notre Dame 11-1-20), (.625 vs. Samford 6-1-8), (.600 vs. Purdue 11-2-15). Amaya had a season-high four aces against Virginia and 10 blocks in the five-set win against Pittsburgh.Â
NCAA Tournament Stats:Â 36 K, .256 HP, 1 ace, 11 D, 25 Blks, 52.5 points; 6 K, .628 HP, 3 D, 2 Blks vs. Samford; 11 K, .600 HP, 3 digs, 2 Blks vs. Purdue; 3 K, .091 HP, 2 D, 4 Blks vs. Baylor; 8 K .278 HP, 2 D, 7 Blks vs. Oregon; 4 K, -.059 HP, 2 D, 7 Blks vs. Pitt; 4 K, .154 HP, 1 ace, 1 D, 2 Blks vs. Texas
2021: Amaya was named to the First Team AVCA All-East Region and All-ACC Second Team. A prolific blocker, Tillman is ranked No. 12 in Blocks/set (1.35) in NCAA, She is No. 44 in hitting percentage (.368) and she even ranks in kills per set with 1.94. Her total blocks ranks her at No. 12 at 149. She has 15 matches with 5 or more blocks. Her season-high came with 9 versus #8 Kentucky. She had 8 against #3 Pitt.  She had five matches in double digit kills with a season high of 12 versus #4 Pitt. She had 10 against #18 Georgia Tech.  She had nine matches hitting .500 or better with her season high coming at .700 (7-0-10) versus TAMU-Corpus Christi. She was named to the First Team Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and was ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year for volleyball. She was named to the All-ACC Academic team as well as the ACC Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll.Â
NCAA Tournament Stats: 4 K, 6 blocks vs. UIC; 5 K, 3 blocks, 2 digs vs. Ball State; 7 K, .667 H%, 3 Blocks, 3 digs vs. Florida; 6 K, .313 H%, 7 blocks vs. Georgia Tech; 8 kills, .412 H%, 1 dig, 3 blocks vs. Wisconsin
2020: Amaya Tillman was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Amaya was also 2nd Team All-ACC. She is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation in blocks per set. She has been ranked as high as No. 1 in that category. She has played in 49 sets with 68 kills, five digs, 81 blocks. Her best match came against BC when she had 10 blocks. Against San Diego, she had four kills and nine blocks. An outstanding student, she was named to the 2020 ACC Honor Roll, was a Red and Black Scholar 2020 and made the Dean's List (Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021).
2019: In her first year as a Cardinal, Amaya progressed quickly, earning a starting slot at middle blocker. Her progress did not go unnoticed as she was named to the ACC's All-Freshman Team. She had 95 total blocks with 13 at Pitt as a season high. She had nine at Western Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Against No. 2 Texas, she had six kills, three blocks as the Cardinals advanced to their first Elite Eight. She had a season-high four digs at Virginia Tech. She had six blocks against both Wake Forest and at Miami. She had an ace against Wake and at Boston College. She hit .667 (6-0-8) in the win over Syracuse and hit .500 at BC (7-1-12).  Exceling in the classroom, Amaya made the ACC Honor Roll, was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and is a Red and Black Scholar.
Prep: Amaya, a middle blocker from Topeka's Shawnee Heights High School and MAVS Volleyball Club, signed with the Cards after Prepvolleyball.com ranked her as No. 30 on the Top 100 Senior Aces List. She led her high school varsity team in blocks during her freshman and sophomore year. She was an integral part of Shawnee Heights' 2016 State Championship and she was named to the 2016 GJNC All-Tournament Team. In 2018, she was named to the United Kansas Conference First Team.Â
Personal:Â Daughter of Nicole and Harold Tillman. Born May 14, 2001. Major is sports administration.Â
Favorites
Athlete: Kyle Kuzma
Hobbies: Reading, hanging with friends, cooking
Movies: Stomp the Yard, Spiderman, Jason Bourne
TV Show: Teen Wolf
Singer: Drake
Foods: Calamari, buffalo wings
Class: English
Best advice: Trust your gutÂ
Book: The Sun is Also a Star
Professional Team: Lakers
Words that describe her: Caring, funny, honest
Why she chose UofL: The family environment, campus life and great athletics
Career Highs:
Kills: 12 vs. Pitt 10/24/21
Attacks: 23 vs. three opponentsÂ
Assists: 1 vs. two opponents
Aces: 1 vs. two opponents
Digs:Â Â 5 vs. Boston College 11/1/19
Blocks:Â 13 vs. Pitt 11/27/19
Â
NCAA Tournament Stats:Â 36 K, .256 HP, 1 ace, 11 D, 25 Blks, 52.5 points; 6 K, .628 HP, 3 D, 2 Blks vs. Samford; 11 K, .600 HP, 3 digs, 2 Blks vs. Purdue; 3 K, .091 HP, 2 D, 4 Blks vs. Baylor; 8 K .278 HP, 2 D, 7 Blks vs. Oregon; 4 K, -.059 HP, 2 D, 7 Blks vs. Pitt; 4 K, .154 HP, 1 ace, 1 D, 2 Blks vs. Texas
2021: Amaya was named to the First Team AVCA All-East Region and All-ACC Second Team. A prolific blocker, Tillman is ranked No. 12 in Blocks/set (1.35) in NCAA, She is No. 44 in hitting percentage (.368) and she even ranks in kills per set with 1.94. Her total blocks ranks her at No. 12 at 149. She has 15 matches with 5 or more blocks. Her season-high came with 9 versus #8 Kentucky. She had 8 against #3 Pitt.  She had five matches in double digit kills with a season high of 12 versus #4 Pitt. She had 10 against #18 Georgia Tech.  She had nine matches hitting .500 or better with her season high coming at .700 (7-0-10) versus TAMU-Corpus Christi. She was named to the First Team Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and was ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year for volleyball. She was named to the All-ACC Academic team as well as the ACC Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll.Â
NCAA Tournament Stats: 4 K, 6 blocks vs. UIC; 5 K, 3 blocks, 2 digs vs. Ball State; 7 K, .667 H%, 3 Blocks, 3 digs vs. Florida; 6 K, .313 H%, 7 blocks vs. Georgia Tech; 8 kills, .412 H%, 1 dig, 3 blocks vs. Wisconsin
2020: Amaya Tillman was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Amaya was also 2nd Team All-ACC. She is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation in blocks per set. She has been ranked as high as No. 1 in that category. She has played in 49 sets with 68 kills, five digs, 81 blocks. Her best match came against BC when she had 10 blocks. Against San Diego, she had four kills and nine blocks. An outstanding student, she was named to the 2020 ACC Honor Roll, was a Red and Black Scholar 2020 and made the Dean's List (Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021).
2019: In her first year as a Cardinal, Amaya progressed quickly, earning a starting slot at middle blocker. Her progress did not go unnoticed as she was named to the ACC's All-Freshman Team. She had 95 total blocks with 13 at Pitt as a season high. She had nine at Western Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Against No. 2 Texas, she had six kills, three blocks as the Cardinals advanced to their first Elite Eight. She had a season-high four digs at Virginia Tech. She had six blocks against both Wake Forest and at Miami. She had an ace against Wake and at Boston College. She hit .667 (6-0-8) in the win over Syracuse and hit .500 at BC (7-1-12).  Exceling in the classroom, Amaya made the ACC Honor Roll, was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and is a Red and Black Scholar.
Prep: Amaya, a middle blocker from Topeka's Shawnee Heights High School and MAVS Volleyball Club, signed with the Cards after Prepvolleyball.com ranked her as No. 30 on the Top 100 Senior Aces List. She led her high school varsity team in blocks during her freshman and sophomore year. She was an integral part of Shawnee Heights' 2016 State Championship and she was named to the 2016 GJNC All-Tournament Team. In 2018, she was named to the United Kansas Conference First Team.Â
Personal:Â Daughter of Nicole and Harold Tillman. Born May 14, 2001. Major is sports administration.Â
Favorites
Athlete: Kyle Kuzma
Hobbies: Reading, hanging with friends, cooking
Movies: Stomp the Yard, Spiderman, Jason Bourne
TV Show: Teen Wolf
Singer: Drake
Foods: Calamari, buffalo wings
Class: English
Best advice: Trust your gutÂ
Book: The Sun is Also a Star
Professional Team: Lakers
Words that describe her: Caring, funny, honest
Why she chose UofL: The family environment, campus life and great athletics
Career Highs:
Kills: 12 vs. Pitt 10/24/21
Attacks: 23 vs. three opponentsÂ
Assists: 1 vs. two opponents
Aces: 1 vs. two opponents
Digs:Â Â 5 vs. Boston College 11/1/19
Blocks:Â 13 vs. Pitt 11/27/19
Â
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