NAPERVILLE – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its 2024 All-Region Teams on Wednesday, including four student-athletes from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) in Region 8. 
 
CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year Taylor French of Illinois Wesleyan and CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year Bailey Houlihan of North Central were selected for the First Team. Millikin’s Kailee Itzenhuiser was the third CCIW student-athlete to be selected for the First Team.
 
French is now a three-time AVCA All-Region First TEam pick, while Itzenhuiser is a repeat selection after earning Honorable Mention last fall.
 
Additionally, Carthage’s Jenna Damon received All-Region Honorable Mention. All four of Wednesday’s AVCA honorees were All-CCIW First Team picks earlier this month.
 
There are 14 All-Region team members and six honorable mention selections for each of the 10 regions. Additionally, a Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year were selected for each region. The 203 student-athletes who made All-Region represent 103 different schools.
 
Leading the IWU offense to a CCIW Regular Season and Tournament Championship title sweep, along with earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021, French has posted 465 kills, the 11th-most in Division III. The CCIW Offensive Player of the Year sits fifth nationally in points with 563, sixth in aces (81), 17th in points per set (4.85), 26th in aces per set (0.70), and 30th in kills per set (4.01). French has also accumulated 358 digs and 33 blocks this season. 
 
Houlihan tallied 575 digs and 54 total aces on the year. Her 5.32 digs per set ranked second in Region VIII while her aces ranked seventh most among the group. Houlihan played in all 30 matches for the Cardinals this season and dished out 84 assists. She faced 512 serves this season, posting a .941 reception percentage.
 
Itzenhuiser leads Millikin in kills this season with 406 total, averaging 3.66 kills per set. She's added 46 service aces and hit for a .222 kill percentage in 2024. She ranks 29th in NCAA Division III in total kills.
 
Damon played a key role for the Firebirds this season, recording 498 digs across 109 sets. She was named the CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week on September 24 and achieved a season-high 36 digs in a match against Carroll on September 18.
 
AVCA All-Region 8 First Team
Taylor French, Illinois Wesleyan
Kailee Itzenhuiser, Millikin
Bailey Houlihan, North Central
 
AVCA All-Region 8 Honorable Mention
Jenna Damon, Carthage

Carthage, Illinois Wesleyan, Millikin and North Central athletics communications contributed to this release.