Jennings-Calkins receives two all-region recognitions
ALAMOSA, Colo.— Adams State College senior middle hitter Darcy Jennings-Calkins (Lakin, Kan.) received a pair of all-region honors Tuesday as she was named as a second team member of the Daktronics, Inc. All-Central Region Team and as an honorable mention member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s All-Central Region Team.
Jennings-Calkins had earlier been named to the First Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team after her record setting career that saw her finish as the Grizzlies’ NCAA Division II era (1992-Present) record holder for career kills (1,353), blocks (512) and total points (1,740.5).
A 4-time overall All-RMAC pick during her career, Jennings-Calkins led the RMAC in kills, blocks and total points per set and this season and was ranked third in the entire nation with her 1.42 per set blocking average. She also stands 25th nationally and second in the region, made up of 28 volleyball playing institutions from the RMAC and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, in kills per set at 3.86.
The 6-foot-1 Lakin High School graduate who redshirted at Division I Wichita State University as a freshman in 2005, also led the region in total points per set (4.84) and ranked fifth in the RMAC with her .326 hitting percentage, the second best single-season mark of any player during ASC’s NCAA Division II era.
The Daktronics Team was selected by sports information directors from the region and is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The online nomination and voting processes are powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM. Headquartered in Charleston, S.C., ATHLETICSITE.COM is the official provider for college athletic websites for over 38 sports organizations, including 34 colleges, universities and conferences primarily at the NCAA Division II level. Adams State College is included in that group. To receive more information on how your institution can partner with ATHLETICSITE.COM for a customized website solution, visit www.athleticsite.com.
Jennings-Calkins is just the third Grizzly to earn a spot on the team in the program’s NCAA Division II history joining Amy Cousin, who earned first team honors in 2003, and Andrea Tuck, who picked up Second Team All-Southwest Region honors in 2007 and First Team All-Central region accolades last season.
A total of 15 players were honored with seven players, selected by position, being named to the first team that will now move on to the national ballot for All-America honors along with the first team selections from the other seven regions from around the country.
Regional champion and 2-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.), which has been selected to play host to the Elite Eight for the second straight year, dominated the team as five Golden Bears earned first team honors, a group that includes senior setter Maggie McNamara, selected as the Central Region Player of the Year for the second straight season. Also being named to the first team was Metro State sophomore outside hitter Bri Morley and Nebraska-Kearney senior middle hitter Nikki Scott, earlier named as the RMAC Player of the Year by the conference’s head coaches.
Seven different teams were represented on the 8-player second team that due to a tie in the voting, had two setters in Nebraska-Kearney’s Cola Svec and Minnesota State’s Brittany Stamer, joined on the second team by outside hitter teammate Amanda Beekman. Fort Lewis’ Chelsea Flaming, who finished second in the RMAC behind Jennings-Calkins in total points per set, was also selected at the outside hitter position as was Colorado Mines’ Elizabeth Serra-Hsu. Wayne State’s (Neb.) Jennifer Hefner, the NSIC’s blocking leader, joined Jennings-Calkins as the other middle hitter on the unit.
Metro State’s Amy Watanabe, named as the RMAC’ Defensive Player of the Year, was tabbed as the Second Team libero.
The AVCA region was selected by a panel of four member coaches from the region and included 14 players, all of which were on regional tournament qualifying teams. Five of those selections, including McNamara hail from Concordia St.-Paul.
Six other players, four of whom are members of the eight regional tournament qualifying teams, received honorable mention accolades, including Southwest Minnesota State’s Mary Groth, also tabbed as the Central Region Freshman of the Year.
Jennings-Calkins had also received an AVCA all-region accolade as a sophomore while she and the Grizzlies were a part of the Southwest Region made up of the RMAC, Heartland and Lone Star Conferences. She is now just the second player to earn multiple AVCA recognitions joining Tuck, a 2007 and 2008 honoree. Cousin was an honorable mention selection in 2003.
Related Item: Daktronics All-Region Team Release
Related Item: AVCA All-Region Team Release
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