Jones, Welsh Earn AVCA All-America Honors
12/18/2019 11:44:00 AM | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- University of Michigan volleyball sophomore outside hitter Paige Jones was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America third team, while senior setter MacKenzi Welsh received All-America honorable mention, the organization announced Wednesday (Dec. 18).
The All-America honor is the first for Jones and second for Welsh. Welsh also earned honorable mention recognition in her freshman season of 2016. Last week, both students were named to the AVCA All-North Region team.
Jones, who was a unanimous All-Big Ten first team selection this season, improved her game in every facet after a freshman season that earned her a spot on the All-Big Ten freshman team. In two fewer games as a sophomore, Jones had 61 more kills, 20 more digs and 17 more total blocks. Her hitting percentage jumped nearly 60 points, finishing the season with a .252 mark after hitting .195 as a freshman.
The outside hitter led the Wolverines in kills (3.92/set) and total aces (39), and was third on the team in digs (2.22). A native of New Bremen, Ohio, Jones started all 32 matches this season and played every set as a six-rotation player, posting 10 kill-dig double-doubles and leading the Wolverines in kills 22 times. She also has totaled five 20-plus kill matches on the year, including a career-high 27 against No. 16 Purdue (Nov. 27). The outside hitter earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors (Nov. 11) once and was one of nine conference players to earn a unanimous Big Ten first team distinction.
In her final season with the Wolverines, Welsh became just the fourth player in program history to pass the 5,000-assist plateau for her career, finishing with the program's third-best assist total (5,223). Michigan's .266 attack percentage set a new high for the program, topping the previous record of .258 set in Welsh's freshman season of 2016. The setter also earned an All-Big Ten first team nod after being an All-Big Ten freshman and All-Big Ten honorable mention honoree in 2016.
Welsh conducted one of the Big Ten's best offenses as the Wolverines had the fourth-best attack percentage in the league (.266). The Bolingbrook, Illinois, native divvied out the conference's third-best assists per set mark (11.03), and had eight 50-plus assist matches on the season. Thanks to Welsh, the Michigan offense was one of only three in the Big Ten to have five players average more than 1.85 kills per set. The setter tallied eight assist-dig double-doubles on the campaign, and set a new career-high in kills with 95.
