Four Mizzou volleyball student-athletes were named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans on Wednesday (Dec. 18) when the teams were announced by the AVCA. The four All-Americans are the most that Mizzou has ever had in one season. Earning All-America honors are senior setter Molly Kreklow (Delano, Minn.), senior right side Lisa Henning (Blue Springs, Mo.), freshman outside hitter Carly Kan (Honolulu, Hawaii) and junior middle blocker Whitney Little (Keller, Texas). Kreklow and Henning were named to the AVCA All-America First Team while Kan and Little were named to the honorable mention team. Kreklow and Henning become just the second and third first team All-Americans in program history, joining current assistant coach Lindsey Hunter, who did so in 2005.
Kreklow guided Mizzou to better than .300 hitting in 30 of 36 matches in 2013 as well. She was also named SEC Player of the Year and 2013 marks the first time she has been named an AVCA All-American. She was one of two setters selected to the AVCA First Team, joining Penn State’s Micah Hancock.
Henning led the team with 499 kills and she ranked 20th nationally with her 4.89 points per set average. Henning came into the season as a career .252 hitter, a very good clip for an outside hitter, but in 2013 she hit a career-best .330 while averaging 4.26 kills per set, 0.74 blocks per set and 2.22 digs per set while serving 26 aces. She led Mizzou with 572.0 total points. She is one of just four three-time All-Americans to land on this year’s first team.
Kan was the only player in SEC play to average better than 3.00 kills per set and 3.00 digs per set. At just 5-9, Kan hit .364 on the season which ranked 49th nationally and seventh in school history. It was also the second-best mark in program history among outside hitters in a single season and the top mark in the rally scoring era. One of the Tigers’ two primary passers, Kan was sensational in serve receive as well, converting 96-percent of her 741 chances. Additionally, nearly 48-percent of her first-ball passes were transitioned into kills as she kept Mizzou in system all season.
Little finished the season ranked third in the SEC with 1.23 blocks per set. Little tied her own school record with 139 blocks this season as she has tied or rest Mizzou’s single season blocks record in each of her first three seasons as a Tiger. She is the only Tiger to ever post 100 blocks in three consecutive seasons in the rally scoring era. Little also tallied a school record 42 solo blocks this season.
