TicketsFor the second time in their careers, University of Cincinnati's Jordan Thompson was unanimously named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Jade Tingelhoff was named the Setter of the Year, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday. Maria Mallon also received honors, joining Thompson and Tingelhoff on the All-AAC First Team.
Both Thompson and Tingelhoff earned the same honors in 2016 as they led the Bearcats to the first NCAA Tournament at-large bid in conference history. UC also received an at-large bid this season and head to Milwaukee, Wisc., to play Illinois State on Friday.
Thompson has put together one of the best individual seasons in history. The redshirt-junior has led the nation in kills per set (6.28) and points per set (6.92) since the second week of competition. She has been named the AVCA National Player of the Week twice, VolleyMob National Player of the Week three times and AAC Offensive Player of the Week an astounding eight out of 14 times. Thompson was named the Preseason AAC Player of the Year for the third time in her career to start the 2018 season. Along with AAC Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, she was the AAC Freshman of the Year in 2015. She reigns as the conference career and single-season leader in kills and points and is also the AAC leader in kills for a match (44 at Wichita State) and in a four-set match (32 vs Xavier). Her 770 total kills is the most the national leader has since 2004. 872 total points is the highest total since the NCAA began keeping the stat in 2009; the second highest total in that span was 808.
Tingelhoff earns the second AAC Setter of the Year honor in her career, also being named such in 2016. The senior ends the regular season averaging 9.21 assists per set to lead the conference. With her 4,106 career assists, Tingelhoff is the conference leader in the category and ranks fourth all-time at UC. She ended the season with back-to-back stints on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll, coming back and finishing the season strong after suffering a hand injury and missing matches early on. Tingelhoff also contributed by averaging 2.40 digs per set, serving 15 aces and totaling 19 blocks.
Mallon finished second on the team in kills per set as a freshman this season with 2.35 kills per set while hitting .223. She also totaled 22 service aces, 201 digs and 43 blocks. Mallon played in 112 of the team's 127 sets. She started her collegiate career with a double-double, totaling 11 kills and 12 digs. She hit a team-high .722 with 14 kills against SMU and also attacked at a percentage of .667 against USF in two of her stronger matches this season. Mallon is the second UC freshman ever to receive All-AAC honors after Thompson received accolades in 2015.
// 2018 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE AWARDS
Player of the Year: Jordan Thompson, OH/RS, R-Jr., Cincinnati *
Setter of the Year: Jade Tingelhoff, Sr., Cincinnati
Libero of the Year: Giorgia Civita, So., Wichita State
Freshman of the Year: McKenna Melville, OH, UCF
Coach of the Year: Todd Dagenais, UCF
First Team All-Conference
Kristina Fisher, OH, So., UCF
McKenna Melville, OH, Fr., UCF *
Jordan Pingel, L, Sr., UCF
Maria Mallon, OH, Fr., Cincinnati
Jade Tingelhoff, S, Sr., Cincinnati
Jordan Thompson, OH/RS, R-Jr., Cincinnati *
Caylee Parker, OH, Fr., UConn
Jac'cara Walker, OH, Jr., USF
Erika Hansel, RS, Jr., Tulane *
Dayna Kern, MB, Sr., Tulane
Emily Thorson, OH, Sr., Tulsa
Giorgia Civita, L, So., Wichita State
Second Team All-Conference
Anne-Marie Watson, OH, So., UCF
Emma Turner, S, Sr., UConn
Shelby Martin, S, So., ECU
Hannah Flowers, RS, So., Memphis
Clara Payne, MB, R-Sr., USF
Brittany Adams, OH, Sr., SMU
Taylor Horsfall, L, Jr., Libero, Tulsa
Rachel Moore, OH/MB, Sr., Tulsa
* unanimous selection
// UP NEXT
• The Bearcats are heading to the NCAA Tournament after receiving an at-large bid as announced on ESPNU Sunday night
• UC will travel to Milwaukee, Wisc., to take on Illinois State on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. ET
• With a win, the Bearcats will face the winner of host No. 14 Marquette and High Point
• The second round game is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET
• The winner of the four-team site will advance on to regional action set for December 7-8
• The 2018 Volleyball Championship will be played at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., December 13-15
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