TicketsFor the third time in her prestigious career, University of Cincinnati's Jordan Thompson has been named the unanimous American Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
Joining her on the first team is sophomore Maria Mallon, who was also a First Team honoree as a freshman. Armania Heckenmueller and Adria Oliver were named to the All-AAC Second Team.
Thompson has put together another incredible season. For the second year in a row she leads the nation in kills (651), kills per set (6.32), points (716) and point per set (6.95). She was named the AVCA National Player of the Week earlier this year after an unbelievable senior day performance. In that match, Thompson was the sixth player in Division I history and first since 1999 to have 50 kills in a match. At the start of conference play she became UC's all-time leader in kills. In the last match of the regular season, Thompson eclipsed 2,500 career kills, joining just eight other players in Division I history who have ever reached that mark. She was also named the AAC Player of the Year last season and in 2016. She was named AAC Freshman of the Year in 2015. Thompson holds all UC and AAC records for career kills, single-season kills and single-match kills.
Mallon repeats First Team All-AAC honors after averaging 3.75 kills per set in the regular season, the fourth most in the conference. She also ranks third in service aces with .40 a match. An all-around threat, Mallon also breaks into the top 15 in the conference in digs where she ranks No. 13 with 3.11 digs per set. She is fifth in points with 4.27. Mallon had a career day in a big match on the road at Houston this season with 24 kills while hitting over .300.
Heckenmueller earns the first AAC honors of her young career as she leads the nation in assists per set with 12.09 and also has guided the UC offense to a team hitting percentage of .298, the fourth-highest in the nation. No one in the country currently averages more than 12 assists per set aside from Heckenmueller. In conference games only, she averages 13.26 assists per set.
Oliver ends the regular season with the second-highest hitting percentage of .350 while averaging 2.23 kills per set and .61 blocks per set, including ten solo. When looking at games against only conference opponents, Oliver's numbers jump to 2.37 kills per set on .384 hitting. She has started every match for the Bearcats this season.
// 2019 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE AWARDS
Player of the Year: Jordan Thompson, R-Sr., OH/RS, Cincinnati*
Libero of the Year: Taylor Horsfall, Sr., Tulsa
Setter of the Year: Lily Heim, So., SMU
Freshman of the Year: Dilara Gedikoglu, OH, Tulsa
Coach of the Year: David Rehr, Houston
All-Conference First Team
Kristina Fisher, Sr., OH, UCF
McKenna Melville, So., OH, UCF*
Anne-Marie Watson, Jr., RS, UCF
Maria Mallon, So., OH, Cincinnati
Jordan Thompson, R-Sr., RS/OH, Cincinnati*
Hannah Flowers, Jr., RS, Memphis
Lily Heim, S, So., SMU
Rachel Woulfe, OH, So., SMU
Kayla Dinkins, MH, So., Tulane
Lexie Douglas, Jr., OH, Tulane
Dilara Gedikoglu, OH, Fr., Tulsa
Taylor Horsfall, Sr., DS/L, Tulsa
All-Conference Second Team
Armania Heckenmueller, S, So., Cincinnati
Adria Oliver, MB, So., Cincinnati
Bri Wood, RS, Jr., East Carolina
Megan Duncan, OH/RS, Sr., Houston
Katie Karbo, DS/L, Sr., Houston
Rachel Tullos, MB, Fr., Houston
Hannah Jacobs, OH, So., SMU
Peyton Boyd, RS, So., Temple
* – denotes unanimous selection
// UP NEXT
• The top six teams in the conference travel to Orlando, Florida, this weekend for the inaugural AAC Tournament
• As the No. 1 seed, UC has a bye into the semifinals and will play the winner of No. 4 Houston/No. 5 Tulane on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
• The AAC Tournament champion will be crowned on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with a match aired live on ESPNU
• The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.
Joining her on the first team is sophomore Maria Mallon, who was also a First Team honoree as a freshman. Armania Heckenmueller and Adria Oliver were named to the All-AAC Second Team.
Thompson has put together another incredible season. For the second year in a row she leads the nation in kills (651), kills per set (6.32), points (716) and point per set (6.95). She was named the AVCA National Player of the Week earlier this year after an unbelievable senior day performance. In that match, Thompson was the sixth player in Division I history and first since 1999 to have 50 kills in a match. At the start of conference play she became UC's all-time leader in kills. In the last match of the regular season, Thompson eclipsed 2,500 career kills, joining just eight other players in Division I history who have ever reached that mark. She was also named the AAC Player of the Year last season and in 2016. She was named AAC Freshman of the Year in 2015. Thompson holds all UC and AAC records for career kills, single-season kills and single-match kills.
Mallon repeats First Team All-AAC honors after averaging 3.75 kills per set in the regular season, the fourth most in the conference. She also ranks third in service aces with .40 a match. An all-around threat, Mallon also breaks into the top 15 in the conference in digs where she ranks No. 13 with 3.11 digs per set. She is fifth in points with 4.27. Mallon had a career day in a big match on the road at Houston this season with 24 kills while hitting over .300.
Heckenmueller earns the first AAC honors of her young career as she leads the nation in assists per set with 12.09 and also has guided the UC offense to a team hitting percentage of .298, the fourth-highest in the nation. No one in the country currently averages more than 12 assists per set aside from Heckenmueller. In conference games only, she averages 13.26 assists per set.
Oliver ends the regular season with the second-highest hitting percentage of .350 while averaging 2.23 kills per set and .61 blocks per set, including ten solo. When looking at games against only conference opponents, Oliver's numbers jump to 2.37 kills per set on .384 hitting. She has started every match for the Bearcats this season.
// 2019 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE AWARDS
Player of the Year: Jordan Thompson, R-Sr., OH/RS, Cincinnati*
Libero of the Year: Taylor Horsfall, Sr., Tulsa
Setter of the Year: Lily Heim, So., SMU
Freshman of the Year: Dilara Gedikoglu, OH, Tulsa
Coach of the Year: David Rehr, Houston
All-Conference First Team
Kristina Fisher, Sr., OH, UCF
McKenna Melville, So., OH, UCF*
Anne-Marie Watson, Jr., RS, UCF
Maria Mallon, So., OH, Cincinnati
Jordan Thompson, R-Sr., RS/OH, Cincinnati*
Hannah Flowers, Jr., RS, Memphis
Lily Heim, S, So., SMU
Rachel Woulfe, OH, So., SMU
Kayla Dinkins, MH, So., Tulane
Lexie Douglas, Jr., OH, Tulane
Dilara Gedikoglu, OH, Fr., Tulsa
Taylor Horsfall, Sr., DS/L, Tulsa
All-Conference Second Team
Armania Heckenmueller, S, So., Cincinnati
Adria Oliver, MB, So., Cincinnati
Bri Wood, RS, Jr., East Carolina
Megan Duncan, OH/RS, Sr., Houston
Katie Karbo, DS/L, Sr., Houston
Rachel Tullos, MB, Fr., Houston
Hannah Jacobs, OH, So., SMU
Peyton Boyd, RS, So., Temple
* – denotes unanimous selection
// UP NEXT
• The top six teams in the conference travel to Orlando, Florida, this weekend for the inaugural AAC Tournament
• As the No. 1 seed, UC has a bye into the semifinals and will play the winner of No. 4 Houston/No. 5 Tulane on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
• The AAC Tournament champion will be crowned on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. with a match aired live on ESPNU
• The tournament champion receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.