NAPERVILLE – Illinois Wesleyan’s Taylor French, Millikin’s Kailee Itzenhuiser and North Central’s Bailey Houlihan received All-America Honorable Mention recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Wednesday morning.
Wednesday’s announcement marks the third consecutive selection for French, who was named to the Third Team in 2022 and the Second Team in 2023. Itzenhuiser and Houlihan were first-time honorees. All three players were picked for the AVCA All-Region 8 Team last Wednesday, Nov. 20.
French – the CCIW Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year – paced the IWU offense with 506 kills, an average of 4.05 per set, which ranks seventh and 27th across Division III, respectively. The Romeoville, Ill. native totaled 613.5 points during the 2024 campaign, the fourth-most nationally, while her average of 4.91 points per set sits 14th. French broke the program's single-season ace record that has stood since 1996, finishing with 89 on the season, the second-most aces across all NCAA divisions, averaging 0.71 per set. IWU's previous record stood at 83, set by LeAnn Genzel.
Itzenhuiser led Millikin in kills this season with 437 total to account for 3.64 kills per set. She tacked on 49 service aces, the second most digs on the team with 468 to average 3.90 per set, a .953 reception efficiency in 703 attempts, and 44.0 total blocks. She surpassed the 1,000 kills mark in her career early in the 2024 season to total 1,336 in her four years at Millikin, and she encompassed the 1,000 digs mark last season to total 1,720 in her career. She ranks fourth all-time in Millikin history for career digs and third in career service aces with 232.
Houlihan tallied 575 digs and 54 service aces while playing every set for the Cardinals. Against nationally ranked opponents, Houlihan ranked third in the country among All-Region players with 13 aces and seventh with 5.50 digs per set. She was selected CCIW Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year on Nov. 11.
Illinois Wesleyan, Millikin and North Central athletics communications contributed to this release.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).