2019 MIAC VOLLEYBALL AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS -- Four players from the Augsburg University volleyball team earned postseason honors from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, it was announced on Wednesday.

Middle blocker Corrina Evans (JR, Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS) earned All-MIAC honors for the third straight year, while outside hitter Kayla Gjerde (SO, Afton, Minn./Stillwater HS) and right-side hitter Megan Quam (SR, Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) earned All-MIAC honors for the first time in their careers. Defensive specialist Jaelin Rios (SR, Champlin, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, earning her first MIAC honor of her career.

The quartet are the heart of an Augsburg squad that has had another outstanding season, reaching the MIAC playoff semifinals for the fourth season in a row. Under 10th-year head coach Jane Becker, the Auggies are 23-5 overall and 8-3 in conference play, its 14th season in school history with 20-plus wins and fourth in the last seven years. The Auggies will play a semifinal match on Thursday (11/7) at 7 p.m. at top-seed St. Thomas.

One of eight players on the 22-member All-MIAC team to earn all-conference honors three times in their careers, Evans has been one of the most dominant middle blockers in the conference throughout her Augsburg tenure. Entering the conference semifinals, Evans has accumulated 243 kills (2.64 per-set), along with a team-best 114 blocks (22 solo, 1.24 per-set). Her 1.24 blocks per-set average currently ranks second among MIAC players and seventh among NCAA Division III players nationally. Evans is hitting at a .308 attack percentage, fourth-best in the MIAC. She has had 12 matches with double-digit kills and 21 matches with 3.0-plus blocks this season.

Her blocking prowess has been a big part of Augsburg's status as one of the top blocking teams in the country. As of Nov. 6, the Auggies rank fourth among all NCAA Division III teams in blocks per-set (2.39) and seventh in total blocks (250.5), both totals leading the MIAC. 

In 86 career matches (317 sets), Evans already holds Augsburg's school records for career total blocks (337) and block assists (290), while her 47 solo blocks are tied for eighth-most. Her 1.06 career blocks per-set average is currently tops in school history. She has 816 career kills (2.57 per-set), standing 10th in school history in kills and eighth in kills per-set, along with 159 digs and 18 service aces.

Gjerde 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 95 sets this season, Gjerde has accumulated a team-best 271 kills (2.85 per-set), hitting .240. She also stands second on the team with 279 digs (2.94 per-set) and has 49 blocks (three solo, 0.52 per-set). She has recorded 11 kill-dig double-doubles this season, and has 15 matches with double-digit kills and 14 matches with double-digit digs.

Her 2.85 kills per-set average ranks 12th among MIAC hitters, and she is one of just five MIAC players to have 250-plus kills and 250-plus digs this season.

In her two seasons at Augsburg (57 matches, 204 sets), Gjerde has 536 kills (2.63 per-set), hitting .224, with 500 digs (2.45 per-set), 100 blocks (six solo, 0.49 per-set) and 15 service aces.

Quam has had one of the best seasons of her career, entering the conference semifinals with 178 kills (1.71 per-set) on a .257 hitting clip, to go along with 76 blocks (six solo, 0.73 per-set). She has had 16 matches with six or more kills and 13 matches with 3.0 or more blocks this season.

One of three Auggies with a 0.70-plus blocks per-set average, Quam ranks 17th among MIAC players in blocks per-set, while her .257 attack percentage is ninth among MIAC players.

In her Augsburg career (83 matches, 291 sets), Quam has 554 kills (1.90 per-set), hitting .238, along with 222 blocks (12 solo, 0.76 per-set) and 178 digs (0.61 per-set).

Rios was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, as part of the conference's sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

Rios has recorded 376 digs (3.62 per-set) in her first season as Augsburg's starting libero, to go along with 66 assists (0.63 per-set) and 23 service aces (0.22 per-set). She currently ranks 13th among MIAC players in digs per-set.

A transfer who played her first two seasons at Capital (Ohio), Rios has 525 digs (3.16 per-set) in her 49-match Augsburg career, while she has 1,174 digs (3.44 per-set) in her four seasons of college volleyball.