STANFORD, Calif. – Leading the nation, the Stanford women's volleyball team placed five players on the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America first and second teams and six players recognized overall.
Jenna Gray, Morgan Hentz and Kathryn Plummer were named to the All-America first team, while Tami Alade and Audriana Fitzmorris were second team selections. Sophomore Meghan McClure was an honorable mention honoree. Stanford's five players on the first and second teams tied a program-best set last year.
The selections bring Stanford's total AVCA All-America award count to 101 honors spread over 41 players. It marks the sixth straight season in which the Cardinal has produced at least four All-Americans.
Plummer is the ninth Cardinal player to be at least a three-time first team pick. Gray and Hentz are repeat first-team selections, while Fitzmorris earned second team in 2017 and honorable mention as a freshman. Alade landed on the honorable mention list a year ago, while McClure is being recognized for the first time in her career.
Gray was recently tabbed the Pac-12 Setter of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Shawnee, Kansas native paces the league and is second nationally with 12.41 assists per set. She is also second in the conference with 0.37 aces per set this season. As a team, the Cardinal is the only Pac-12 squad hitting over .300 on the year at .310 – the third-best mark in the nation. The junior, who earned all-conference recognition for the second time, is currently sixth in program history in career assists (4,008) and her 11.10 career assists per set average would be fourth all-time.
A repeat Pac-12 Libero of the Year winner, Hentz leads the team with 4.77 digs per set and has just 13 reception errors on the season. Her 4.77 digs per set would be the fourth-best single season mark in school history. The junior was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week five times this season. The Lakeside Park, Kentucky, native has registered double-digit digs in 32 of 33 matches this season, reaching the 20-dig plateau on eight occasions.
A native of Aliso Viejo, California, Plummer is a two-time AVCA Pacific North Region Player of the Year. She ranks seventh in the nation in kills per set (4.76) and fifth in points per set (5.44). The junior is also seventh in the conference with 0.30 aces per set. Her 10 double-doubles leads the team and the outside hitter was named Pac-12 Player of the Year for the second straight season. She has registered 20 or more kills in nine matches, including a team season-high 25 in a four-set win over Minnesota, and has hit .300 or better in 14 matches. She has produced 30 percent of the team's kills this season.
Alade earned her first career AVCA All-Pacific North Region and All-Pac-12 Conference accolades this year. The Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada native is the only conference player hitting over .400 this season. Her .419 clip is the fourth-best output in the country. She leads the nation with 1.80 blocks per set as Stanford leads country as a team with 3.39 blocks per set. The senior set a program record in the rally-scoring era with 15 blocks in a win over Colorado on Nov. 2. She has tallied six or more blocks in 17 matches this season.
Fitzmorris, who switched from middle blocker to opposite this season, is seventh in the Pac-12 with a .342 attack percentage and ninth with 1.14 blocks per set. Her hitting percentage is the highest in the league of any non-middle blocker. The Overland Park, Kansas, native has tallied five or more blocks in 10 matches this season and recently moved into ninth at Stanford in career blocks (483). Her .339 career hitting percentage would be the ninth-best in program history.
McClure was the only sophomore to land on the AVCA All-Pacific North Region first team. She earned her first career all-conference honor this season. She is third on the team in kills (310) and points (361.0), and second in digs (273). The outside hitter is second on the team lead with nine double-doubles on the season. She has posted double-digit kills in 15 matches and hit .300 or better on 12 occasions. She registered a career-high 16 kills in a four-set win over Minnesota on Sept. 9.
No. 1 Stanford is making its 22nd appearance in the national semifinal on Thursday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Cardinal will square off against No. 4 seed BYU, which handed Stanford its lone loss of the year. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT on ESPN.
