WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Balancing a strong performance on the court and stellar work in the classroom has brought setter Ashley Evans Academic All-America honors for the second straight year. Evans, a mechanical engineering major, was named as a second team Academic All-America honoree as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday, following third team accolades in 2015. Only 18 Division I volleyball players, six to each of three teams, are honored with Academic All-America accolades each year.
The redshirt junior guided the Boilermakers to a 19-14 mark in 2016, including an NCAA Second Round appearance. She helped the team to a hitting percentage of .250 or better in 19 matches, including .300 or better 12 times and .500 or better once. The Liberty Township, Ohio, native set Purdue to a .517 clip against Indiana on Sept. 24, marking the fifth better hitting percentage in program lore and the second best in the rally scoring era. Evans also guided the team to a program NCAA record mark of .454 against Iowa State in the first round Dec. 1. She dished out 10.88 assists per set, ranking 38th nationally and fifth in the Big Ten, while also adding 2.07 digs per set and a team-best 29 aces. The redshirt junior led the Boilermakers in blocks three times and in digs twice.
Evans put together 10 double-doubles, combining digs and assists each time, and also became just the 15th player in Purdue history to record a triple-double. Her 43-assist, 10-kill, 10-dig effort against No. 24 Kentucky on Aug. 27 marked the first for a Boilermakers since 2014 and made her just the fourth setter in program history to achieve the feat.
The two-time Academic All-District and three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection is one of just six setters in Purdue history with 2,000 career assists and 750 digs. All told, Evans boasts 2,781 assists and 823 digs, including 39 double-digit dig efforts.
Purdue volleyball has earned 11 Academic All-America honors since 1982, including five under head coach Dave Shondell (since 2003). Evans becomes just the third two-time honoree in program history, following Barbara Meeker (second team, 1987; third team, 1988) and Ariel Turner (second team, 2011; first team, 2012).
2016 Academic All-America Volleyball Teams -- Division I
First Team
Amy Boswell, BYU
Audrey Edie, Mississippi
Leah Mikesky, Rice
Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska
Paige Tapp, Minnesota
Teegan Van Gunst, Georgia Tech
Second Team
Ashley Evans, Purdue
Marguerite Grubb, Texas Tech
Lily Johnson, Missouri State
Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State
Kayla Ostrom, Lipscomb
Krystal Rivers, Alabama
Third Team
Laura Beach, Wyoming
Kelsey Bittinger, Kent State
Lauren Carlini, Wisconsin
Kyra Coundourides, Temple
Hannah Klemm, Hofstra
Haleigh Washington, Penn State