2019 AVCA ALL-CENTRAL REGION TEAM
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University volleyball players
Corrina Evans (JR, Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS) and
Kayla Gjerde (SO, Afton, Minn./Stillwater HS) were named to the Division III All-Central Region Team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, it was announced on Thursday. It's the first all-region honor for both players.
A three-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, Evans has been one of the most dominant middle blockers in the conference throughout her Augsburg tenure. In 102 sets his season, Evans accumulated 274 kills (2.69 per-set), along with a team-best 123 blocks (25 solo, 1.21 per-set). Her blocks per-set average ranks
second among MIAC players and
seventh among NCAA Division III players nationally (as of Nov. 13). Evans hit at a team-best .316 attack percentage, fourth-best in the MIAC. She had 14 matches with double-digit kills and 23 matches with 3.0-plus blocks this season.
Her blocking prowess was a big part of Augsburg's status as one of the top blocking teams in the country. As of Nov. 13, the Auggies rank fourth among all NCAA Division III teams in blocks per-set (2.37) and eighth in total blocks (260.5), both totals leading the MIAC.
In 88 career matches (327 sets), Evans already holds Augsburg's school records for career total blocks (346) and block assists (296), while her 50 solo blocks are tied for sixth-most. Her 1.06 career blocks per-set average is currently tops in school history. She has 847 career kills (2.59 per-set), standing ninth in school history in kills and ninth in kills per-set, along with 170 digs and 19 service aces.
Gjerde, a
first-time All-MIAC selection this season, has established a reputation as one of the best "six-rotation," all-around players in the conference -- a player that rarely leaves the court and plays all six spots in a team's rotation. In 103 sets this season, Gjerde accumulated a team-best 289 kills (2.81 per-set), hitting .229. She finished second on the team with 301 digs (2.92 per-set) and recorded 49 blocks (three solo, 0.48 per-set). She recorded 12 kill-dig double-doubles this season, and had 16 matches with double-digit kills and 15 matches with double-digit digs.
Her 2.81 kills per-set average
ranks 13th among MIAC hitters, and she is one of just four MIAC players to have 275-plus kills and 275-plus digs this season.
In her two seasons at Augsburg (59 matches, 212 sets), Gjerde has 554 kills (2.61 per-set), hitting .219, with 522 digs (2.46 per-set), 100 blocks (six solo, 0.47 per-set) and 15 service aces. Her 2.61 career kills per-set average currently ranks seventh in school history.
The duo are the heart of an Augsburg squad had another outstanding season, reaching the NCAA Division III national tournament for the second straight season and fifth time in school history. Under 10th-year head coach
Jane Becker, the Auggies finished 23-7 overall and 8-3 in conference play, its 14th season in school history with 20-plus wins and fourth in the last seven years. Augsburg has reached the MIAC postseason playoffs four straight seasons, six times in the last seven years and eight times in the last 11 years.
(NOTE: Story includes information taken from Augsburg's All-MIAC volleyball release.)
