Horizon League Unveils 2021 #HLVB Awards
INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League announced its 2021 #HLVB All-League awards on Thursday as selected by the League’s 11 head coaches. Milwaukee’s Ari Miller has been named the Horizon League Player and Offensive Player of the Year while teammate Rylie Vaughn earned Setter of the Year honors and fellow Panther Madi Malone was voted Freshman of the Year. Wright State’s Jenna Story has been chosen Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. Northern Kentucky’s Liz Hart is the #HLVB Coach of the Year.
Player and Offensive Player of the Year Miller posted 3.54 kills per set in League play this season while hitting .406 from the middle to lead the Panthers to their first regular season title since 2013. The junior also earned All-League First Team honors for the third consecutive season.
Story earns her third Defensive Player of the Year honor, tying Valparaiso’s Taylor Root (2010-12) for the most in League history. The senior libero led #HLVB with 5.76 digs per League set, ranking third nationally with 5.72 digs per set overall and also earning her third All-League First Team honor.
Vaughn won Setter of the Year honors for Milwaukee. The senior paced the League with 11.57 assists per #HLVB set as the Panthers topped the League with 14.75 kills and a team hitting percentage of .301 in League play. Vaughn earned All-League First Team recognition for the first time in her career.
Malone picked up Freshman of the Year and All-League First Team honors. The rookie ranked fourth in the League with 3.64 kills per League set and added 2.67 digs per set, playing every set for the Panthers in #HLVB play and hitting .254 from the outside.
Hart is the 2021 Coach of the Year, picking up her first Coach of the Year honor in the League. Hart led the Norse to a 15-2 League record, securing the No. 2 seed in the championship. With the quarterfinal bye, NKU has reached the tournament semifinals in all seven seasons as members of the League.
Joining Miller, Story, Vaughn and Malone on the All-League First Team are student-athletes from five programs. Carmen Heilemann joins Miller, Vaughn and Malone on the First Team to represent the Panthers as the fifth-year averaged 4.0 kills and hit .381 in League matches. A trio of Northern Kentucky student-athletes earned All-League First Team honors as Reilly Briggs posted 3.37 kills and hit .329 in League matches, Anna Brinkmann totaled 3.40 kills per League set and Abby Kanakry ranked in the top ten among #HLVB players, hitting .297 in League play. UIC’s Paola Santiago led the League with 4.13 kills per League set to earn All-League First Team honors, along with teammate Martina Delucchi who posted 3.33 kills per set in League play. One student-athlete from both Green Bay and Youngstown State was also selected to the All-League Team. Alex Zakutney posted 3.37 kills per League set to represent the Phoenix. YSU freshman Paula Gürsching picked up First Team and All-Freshman Team honors as she ranked third with 3.98 kills per set in her first League season.
Six student-athletes from four institutions earned All-League Second Team honors, including three from Wright State. Nyssa Baker (.332 League hitting percentage), Callie Martin (2.86 kills per League set) and Lainey Stephenson (10.70 assists per set in League play) represent the Raiders. Oakland’s Lindsay Wightman (5.43 digs per League set), Purdue Fort Wayne’s Katie Crowe (3.39 kills per set in League play) and UIC’s Sohila Wafeek (10.94 assists per set in League play) complete the All-League Second Team.
Malone and Gürsching highlight the All-Freshman Team, with six total schools represented. Joy Banks and Sequoia Hunt represent NKU while GB’s Abby Gardner, IUPUI’s Briana Brown and UIC’s Salma Abdelhady close out the All-Freshman team.
The 2021 #HLVB championship begins on Friday, Nov. 19 as No. 3 seed Wright State will face No. 6 seed Oakland (9-9) in the first quarterfinal at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT followed by No. 4 seed UIC taking on No. 5 seed Green Bay in the second quarterfinal at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.
Top-seeded Milwaukee will host the lowest-remaining seed from the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT before No. 2 seed Northern Kentucky faces the highest-remaining seed from the quarterfinals at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT for the final spot in the title match.
The two semifinal winners will battle for an NCAA Tournament bid in the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. CT. All matches of the championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Visit championship central for streaming links and more information on the championship.
2021 #HLVB Award Winners
Player of the Year: Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Offensive Player of the Year: Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Defensive Player of the Year: Jenna Story, Wright State
Setter of the Year: Rylie Vaughn, Milwaukee
Freshman of the Year: Madi Malone, Milwaukee
Coach of the Year: Liz Hart, Northern Kentucky
All-League First Team (alphabetical by school)
Alex Zakutney, Green Bay
Carmen Heilemann, Milwaukee
Madi Malone, Milwaukee
Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Rylie Vaughn, Milwaukee
Reilly Briggs, Northern Kentucky
Anna Brinkmann, Northern Kentucky
Abby Kanakry, Northern Kentucky
Martina Delucchi, UIC
Paola Santiago, UIC
Jenna Story, Wright State
Paula Gürsching, Youngstown State
All-League Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Lindsay Wightman, Oakland
Katie Crowe, Purdue Fort Wayne
Sohila Wafeek, UIC
Nyssa Baker, Wright State
Callie Martin, Wright State
Lainey Stephenson, Wright State
All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Abby Gardner, Green Bay
Briana Brown, IUPUI
Madi Malone, Milwaukee
Joy Banks, Northern Kentucky
Sequoia Hunt, Northern Kentucky
Salma Abdelhady, UIC
Paula Gürsching, Youngstown State