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Three Utes Named AVCA All-Americans
12/13/2017 10:05 AM | Volleyball
Anae earns first team honors, Luafalemana, Trueman and Oblad named honorable mention
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Senior Adora Anae was named a first-team All-American, while senior Tawnee Luafalemana and junior Berkeley Oblad both earned honorable mention All-American honors by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), the organization announced today.
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This marks just the second time in school history that three Utah players have earned All-America honors by the AVCA in one season and first time since 2006 (Airial Salvo, second team; Whitney Webb, third team; Emillie Toone, honorable mention).
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Anae becomes Utah's first-ever first-team All-American selection, while the trio combined to become the program's 11th, 12th and 13th All-American selections overall. Anae also became just the second player in school history to earn All-American honors for a second time, joining Toone, who was also tabbed an honorable mention All-American in 2008.
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Anae, who was named the AVCA All-Pacific South Region Player of the Year this past week, led the team this season with 547 kills, a 4.38 kills/set average, while ranking second on the team with 395 digs. She also tallied 22 service aces, which ranks second on the squad. Anae tallied 10+ kills in 32 of 33 matches this season, while also notching a team-high 22 double-doubles. Midway through the season she set Utah's all-time career kills record, surpassing former All-American Kim Turner's total of 1,620 career kills. The Punaluu, Hawaii, native was tabbed AVCA's National Player of the Week back on Oct. 10.
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Anae closes out her storied career with the Utes ranking first all-time in kills (1,920) and attempts (4,915), while tying for first all-time in sets played (483). She ranks third all-time in digs (1,319) and is tied for seventh all-time in matches played (128).
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Luafalemana, who was an AVCA first-team All-Pacific South Region selection, was Utah's leader with 152 total blocks on the season, which included a team-leading 22 solo blocks. She also led the squad with a .368 hitting percentage, which ranks as the program's third-best single-season hitting percentage. She posted 260 kills, a 1.98 kills/set average and totaled 55 digs. The Carson, Calif., native earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors back on Sept. 4.
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Luafalemana finished her two-year career with the Utes notching 522 kills and 284 total blocks. She also posted a career .347 hitting percentage, which ranks first all-time in career hitting proficiency.
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Oblad, who earned honorable mention All-Pacific South Region accolades, ranked second on the team with 142 total blocks on the year. She also ranked second on the team with a .318 hitting percentage. She totaled 300 kills and a 2.29 kills/set average. The Henderson, Nev., native was a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honoree, earning the selection on both Sept. 11 and Oct. 9.
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Oblad will head into her senior year next season with 711 kills, 164 digs and 323 total blocks.
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Utah went 24-10 overall in 2017, which included finishing in fourth place in the Pac-12 Conference with a record of 13-7. The 24 wins are the most in a season since collecting 26 victories back in 2008, while the 13 conference wins are the most since joining the Pac-12. The Utes won the Salt Lake City sub-Regional and earned the program's third Sweet 16 appearance.
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Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. The Division I TeamSnap/AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Dec. 15 at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet.
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ALL-TIME UTAH ALL-AMERICANS
Kim Turner, Third Team (2003)
Lyndsey Henderson, HM (2004)
Shelly Sommerfeldt, HM (2005)
Airial Salvo, Second Team (2006)
Whitney Webb, Third Team (2006)
Emillie Toone, HM (2006 and 2008)
Lori Baird, Third Team (2008)
Shelby Dalton, HM (2013)
Adora Anae, Second Team (2016)
Adora Anae, First Team (2017)
Tawnee Luafalemana, HM (2017)
Berkeley Obald, HM (2017)
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AVCA FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
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AVCA SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
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AVCA THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
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2017 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Year:Â Dana Rettke, Wisconsin, MB
2017 Division I TeamSnap/AVCA Player of the Year:Â Announced at the All-America/Player of the Year Banquet on December 15.
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A complete list of AVCA honorable mention All-Americans, along with All-American bios can be found here.
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This marks just the second time in school history that three Utah players have earned All-America honors by the AVCA in one season and first time since 2006 (Airial Salvo, second team; Whitney Webb, third team; Emillie Toone, honorable mention).
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Anae becomes Utah's first-ever first-team All-American selection, while the trio combined to become the program's 11th, 12th and 13th All-American selections overall. Anae also became just the second player in school history to earn All-American honors for a second time, joining Toone, who was also tabbed an honorable mention All-American in 2008.
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Anae, who was named the AVCA All-Pacific South Region Player of the Year this past week, led the team this season with 547 kills, a 4.38 kills/set average, while ranking second on the team with 395 digs. She also tallied 22 service aces, which ranks second on the squad. Anae tallied 10+ kills in 32 of 33 matches this season, while also notching a team-high 22 double-doubles. Midway through the season she set Utah's all-time career kills record, surpassing former All-American Kim Turner's total of 1,620 career kills. The Punaluu, Hawaii, native was tabbed AVCA's National Player of the Week back on Oct. 10.
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Anae closes out her storied career with the Utes ranking first all-time in kills (1,920) and attempts (4,915), while tying for first all-time in sets played (483). She ranks third all-time in digs (1,319) and is tied for seventh all-time in matches played (128).
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Luafalemana, who was an AVCA first-team All-Pacific South Region selection, was Utah's leader with 152 total blocks on the season, which included a team-leading 22 solo blocks. She also led the squad with a .368 hitting percentage, which ranks as the program's third-best single-season hitting percentage. She posted 260 kills, a 1.98 kills/set average and totaled 55 digs. The Carson, Calif., native earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors back on Sept. 4.
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Luafalemana finished her two-year career with the Utes notching 522 kills and 284 total blocks. She also posted a career .347 hitting percentage, which ranks first all-time in career hitting proficiency.
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Oblad, who earned honorable mention All-Pacific South Region accolades, ranked second on the team with 142 total blocks on the year. She also ranked second on the team with a .318 hitting percentage. She totaled 300 kills and a 2.29 kills/set average. The Henderson, Nev., native was a two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honoree, earning the selection on both Sept. 11 and Oct. 9.
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Oblad will head into her senior year next season with 711 kills, 164 digs and 323 total blocks.
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Utah went 24-10 overall in 2017, which included finishing in fourth place in the Pac-12 Conference with a record of 13-7. The 24 wins are the most in a season since collecting 26 victories back in 2008, while the 13 conference wins are the most since joining the Pac-12. The Utes won the Salt Lake City sub-Regional and earned the program's third Sweet 16 appearance.
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Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. The Division I TeamSnap/AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Dec. 15 at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet.
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ALL-TIME UTAH ALL-AMERICANS
Kim Turner, Third Team (2003)
Lyndsey Henderson, HM (2004)
Shelly Sommerfeldt, HM (2005)
Airial Salvo, Second Team (2006)
Whitney Webb, Third Team (2006)
Emillie Toone, HM (2006 and 2008)
Lori Baird, Third Team (2008)
Shelby Dalton, HM (2013)
Adora Anae, Second Team (2016)
Adora Anae, First Team (2017)
Tawnee Luafalemana, HM (2017)
Berkeley Obald, HM (2017)
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AVCA FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
| First Name | Last Name | School | Pos. | Year |
| Rhamat | Alhassan#$! | University of Florida | MB | Sr. |
| Adora | Anae^ | University of Utah | OH | Sr. |
| Danielle | Cuttino | Purdue University | MB/OH | Sr. |
| Leah | Edmond# | University of Kentucky | OH | So. |
| Jenna | Gray | Stanford University | S | So. |
| Morgan | Hentz | Stanford University | L | So. |
| Kelly | Hunter^ | University of Nebraska | S | Sr. |
| Khalia | Lanier | University of Southern California | OH | So. |
| Simone | Lee* | Penn State University | OH | Sr. |
| Chiaka | Ogbogu$&/ | University of Texas | MB | RS-Sr. |
| Kathryn | Plummer* | Stanford University | OH | So. |
| Dana | Rettke | University of Wisconsin | MB | Fr. |
| Stephanie | Samedy | University of Minnesota | RS | Fr. |
| Haleigh | Washington*$ | Penn State University | MB | Sr. |
AVCA SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
| First Name | Last Name | School | Pos. | Year |
| Annika | Albrecht | University of Nebraska | OH | Sr. |
| Autumn | Bailey | Michigan State University | OH | RS-Sr. |
| Audriana | Fitzmorris | Stanford University | MB | So. |
| Mikaela | Foecke | University of Nebraska | OH | Jr. |
| Alyssa | Garvelink^ | Michigan State University | MB | Sr. |
| Madeleine | Gates | UCLA | MB | So. |
| Shainah | Joseph | University of Florida | RS | RS-Sr. |
| Madison | Lilley | University of Kentucky | S | Fr. |
| Merete | Lutz#@! | Stanford University | RS | RS-Sr. |
| Emily | Maglio | University of Hawai'i | MB | Sr. |
| Samantha | Seliger-Swenson*@ | University of Minnesota | S | Jr. |
| Alexa | Smith | University of Colorado | OH | Jr. |
| Carli | Snyder | University of Florida | OH | Sr. |
| Kendall | White | Penn State University | L | So. |
AVCA THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
| First Name | Last Name | School | Pos. | Year |
| Brittany | Abercrombie | University of Southern California | RS | Sr. |
| Sherridan | Atkinson | Purdue University | RS | RS-Jr. |
| Ali | Bastianelli | University of Illinois | MB | Jr. |
| Alyssa | Cavanaugh | Western Kentucky University | OH | Sr. |
| Carly | DeHoog | University of Washington | RS | Sr. |
| Kristen | Gengenbacher | University of San Diego | S | Sr. |
| Alexis | Hart | University of Minnesota | OH | So. |
| Lily | Johnson | Missouri State University | OH | Sr. |
| Veronica | Jones-Perry | BYU | OH | Jr. |
| Rachael | Kramer | University of Florida | MB | So. |
| Kelsie | Payne*$ | University of Kansas | RS | Sr. |
| Jordyn | Poulter | University of Illinois | S | Jr. |
| Carly | Skjodt | University of Michigan | OH | Jr. |
| Micaya | White* | University of Texas | OH | RS-So. |
| * indicates 2016 AVCA First-Team All-America selection |
| ^ indicates 2016 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection |
| # indicates 2016 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection |
| $ indicates 2015 AVCA First-Team All-America selection |
| @ indicates 2015 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection |
| % indicates 2015 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection |
| & indicates 2014 AVCA First-Team All-American selection |
| ! indicates 2014 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection |
| + indicates a 2014 AVCA Third-Team All-American selection |
| / indicates a 2013 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection |
2017 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Year:Â Dana Rettke, Wisconsin, MB
2017 Division I TeamSnap/AVCA Player of the Year:Â Announced at the All-America/Player of the Year Banquet on December 15.
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A complete list of AVCA honorable mention All-Americans, along with All-American bios can be found here.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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