Lerg, Skjodt and Jones Earn AVCA All-Region Honors
12/4/2018 12:17:00 PM | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- One week after earning All-Big Ten honors, University of Michigan volleyball senior libero Jenna Lerg and senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt earned selections to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-North Region team, while freshman outside hitter Paige Jones earned an honorable mention, it was announced Tuesday (Dec. 4). All three Wolverines will now be considered for AVCA All-America honors, which will be announced next Wednesday (Dec. 12).
The All-Region selection is a second for Skjodt and first for Lerg, who will now be considered for her first All-America honor. Skjodt wrapped up the 2017 campaign with an AVCA All-America third-team selection.
Lerg earned an All-Big Ten Conference second-team selection in her final season with the Maize and Blue as the starting libero. The Farmington Hills, Michigan, native leads the Wolverines with 4.89 digs per and has finished with double-digs in 28 of 33 matches to date. The 5-foot-6 libero has also led Michigan in digs 27 times, including a team-best 20 digs in a five-set win over No. 11-ranked Pitt last weekend (Dec. 1), and has recorded 20 or more digs in 11 matches so far. In addition to earning two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week awards, she was named the MVP of the War Eagle Invitational Tournament and garnered a Michigan Invitational All-Tournament team selection. Lerg was also named a CoSIDA Academic All-District second-team selection for the second year in a row.
A unanimous 2018 All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection, Skjodt currently leads the Wolverines in kills (4.17/set) and ranks second in digs (2.61/set). The senior outside hitter has started all 33 matches this season and played every set as a six-rotation player, posting 12 kill-dig double-doubles and leading the Wolverines in kills 23 times. She has also totaled seven 20-plus kill matches on the year, including a career-high 29 kills in a five-set win over Indiana (Oct. 6). She was named the MVP of the Michigan Invitational Tournament and earned a selection to the War Eagle Invitational All-Tournament team. The Indianapolis, Indiana, native earned three Big Ten Player of the Week selections during the 2018 regular season and was one of seven unanimous selections to the 14-player preseason All-Big Ten team. Additionally, Skjodt was a CoSIDA Academic All-District first-team selection for the second straight year and was selected as a candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award.
In her debut season with the Maize and Blue, Jones has started and played every match as an outside hitter, totaling 116 sets played through a possible 118. A native of New Bremen, Ohio, the newcomer currently ranks second on the team with 3.46 kills per set and has posted 20 double-digit kill performances on the season so far. Jones has led the Wolverines in kills 11 times and tallied seven kill-dig double-doubles, while also leading the Wolverines with 37 service aces. In addition to being named a Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 26) and the MVP of the Michigan Challenge Tournament, Jones capped off the 2018 regular season with a Big Ten Conference All-Freshman team selection.
Michigan (24-9) is still in the hunt for its first NCAA title and will make its seventh Sweet 16 appearance in program history this weekend at BYU. The Maize and Blue is set to face No. 5-seeded Texas on Friday (Dec. 7). Should the Wolverines advance, they will face the winner of Florida/BYU on Saturday (Dec. 8) in their first Elite 8 appearance since 2012 and third overall.
