WICHITA, Kan. – Three members of the Wichita State volleyball team were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Conference teams, the conference announced Tuesday. Sophomore middle blocker Natalie Foster and redshirt junior outside hitter Brylee Kelly were selected First Team All-Conference, while junior opposite Sophia Rohling was tabbed to the Second Team.
Foster continued her emergence into one of the nation's most efficient scorers, ranking 30th nationally with a hitting percentage of .381. She ranked second among AAC middles with 3.01 kills per set and had 20 matches with 10 or more kills, highlighted by a stretch of 14 in a row from October 7 to November 20. The 6'4 middle delivered some of the most impressive individual performances of the season for the Shockers; on October 12 against Tulsa Foster fired a career-best 21 kills to spark a five-set comeback victory against the Golden Hurricane and on November 13 vs. Houston she hit .684 with 14 kills against one of the nation's best defensive units, the best hitting percentage by a Shocker in any match this season (min. 10 kills).
The sophomore was at her best against the Shockers stiffest competition, hitting .400 or better in six matches against foes ranked in the top 100 of the RPI. After earning Second Team All-Conference honors last season, Foster added to her game with career bests in blocking (a team-high 99.0 total blocks) and serving (25 aces, more than double her 2021 total). On September 16 at Dayton, she matched her career high in both aces (3) and digs (7), helping the Shockers to a four-set win.
Foster was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll four times, and was selected Defensive Player of the Week on September 5.
Kelly added another chapter to her storied Shocker career, earning First Team honors for the second consecutive season. She finished sixth in the conference and led Wichita State with 3.40 kills per set, including four matches with 20 or more kills. No WSU player scored more points in a single match this season than Kelly against Iowa State on August 27, as she piled up 21 kills, five aces, three block assists and one solo block for 28.5 total points in a thrilling five-set win. The native of Monee, Illinois fired home 21 more kills on a season-best .432 hitting percentage in a road win against Dayton, and twice struck for 20 terminations against Memphis. With 384 kills on the season, she is now just 26 away from 1,000 in her Shocker career.
The redshirt junior took major strides as both a passer and blocker, improving her digs per set (1.26 to 1.81) and blocks per set (0.38 to 0.46). She set a new career high with 18 digs at Tulane on October 23, and helped the Shockers to a road win at Cincinnati with a match-clinching solo block in the fourth set. Kelly also remained a potent weapon at the service line, leading the team with 33 aces.
Rohling put together an excellent bounce-back campaign after her 2021 fall season was derailed by injuries. The junior opposite established new career highs in virtually every major statistical category, including kills (263), kills per set (2.80), hitting percentage (.278), blocks per set (0.86) and digs per set (0.69). She opened the season with five consecutive matches with double-digit kills, ending the regular season with 13 such performances. Rohling carried the Shockers to a season-opening win at Wyoming with a season-high 20 kills, and the next day set a new career best with eight block assists in the win over Iowa State.
In conference play, Rohling delivered several monster performances to key Shocker victories. At East Carolina on September 25, the native of Thayer, Kansas not only poured in 16 kills on a .394 hitting percentage, but also racked up nine blocks against the Pirates. In the regular season home finale against Cincinnati, Rohling put together her most efficient offensive match of the season, hitting .619 with 13 kills and no attack errors.
UCF led the conference with five selections, while Houston had four plus the league's Coach of the Year in David Rehr.
2022 American Volleyball Regular Season Awards
Player of the Year
McKenna Melville, Gr., OH, UCF (unanimous)
Libero of the Year
Kate Georgiades, Jr., Houston (unanimous)
Setter of the Year
Amber Olsen, Gr., UCF
Coach of the Year
David Rehr, Houston
Freshman of the Year
Angeles Alderete, OH, East Carolina
First Team All-Conference
McKenna Melville, Gr., OH UCF
Abbie Jackson, Sr., OH Houston
Amber Olson, Gr., S, UCF
Kate Georgiades, Jr., L, Houston
Abby Hansen, Gr., MB, UCF
Natalie Foster, So., MB, Wichita State
Claudia Dillon, Sr., MB, UCF
Isabel Theut, Gr., MB, Houston
Jamison Wheler, So., OH, SMU
Marieke van der Mark, Gr., OPP, SMU
Kayley Cassaday, Sr., OH, Tulsa
Brylee Kelly, R-Jr., OH, Wichita State
Second Team All-Conference
Rachel Tullos, Sr., MB, Houston
Celia Cullen, Jr., S, SMU
Angeles Alderete, Fr., OH, East Carolina
Sophia Rohling, Jr., OPP, Wichita State
Carly Glendinning, Fr., OH, Cincinnati
Kari Zumach, Gr., RS, UCF
Bailey Houlihan, Jr., L, Memphis
Abby Walker, So., MB, Cincinnati