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Women's Volleyball
Payton, Blankenship Earn AVCA All-America HonorsDec. 18, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. - University of Northern Iowa setter Bre Payton and libero Ellie Blankenship have been named American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America honorable mentions.
Payton was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and MVC Tournament MVP in November. She was the only player in the Valley to notch a triple-double in 2009, and she collected seven on the season. Payton averaged 10.5 assists, 2.17 kills, 0.25 aces and 2.79 digs per set for the Panthers. She was second on the team with a .312 attack percentage, and she set the Panthers to an average of 14.83 kills per set, fourth-highest in the nation.
Blankenship led the MVC and ranked fourth nationally with 5.82 digs per set. She was a first-team all-conference selection, and she earned a place on the all-MVC Tournament team. The junior has broken the UNI season digs mark in each of her three seasons with the Panthers, and she owns the record for career digs, digs per set in a career and digs per set in a season.
The UNI volleyball team finished the year with a 31-3 overall record and a perfect 18-0 mark in league play.
The selections were made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: chair - Debbie Kirch, Green Bay; Andy Banachowski, UCLA; Keylor Chan, Northwestern; Joe Getzin, Mississippi; Christy Johnson-Lynch, Iowa State; Mike Jordan, New Mexico State; Anne Kordes, Saint Louis; and Lee Maes, Virginia. The AVCA Awards Chair is Dayton head volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield.
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