Three Kentuckians named First Team All-Americans in NCAA Division I volleyball

Three players from Kentucky, including two from Lexington, were named First Team All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association on Wednesday.

Leah Edmond of Kentucky, Kaitlyn Hord of Penn State and Morgan Hentz of Stanford were named to the 14-member First Team.

Edmond, a senior outside hitter from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, was the 2019 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year after leading Kentucky to the SEC championship and advancement to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Hord, a sophomore middle blocker from Henry Clay High School in Lexington, led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Elite Eight and was a unamimous All-Big Ten First Team selection.

Hentz, a senior libero from Notre Dame Academy, was named Pac-12 Libero of the Year for the third season in a row in 2019. Stanford will play in the NCAA Final Four, which begins Thursday in Pittsburgh, seeking its third national championship in Hentz’s four seasons with the Cardinal.

Two of Edmond’s UK teammates also received All-America recognition. Junior setter Madison Lilley made the Second Team. Sophomore outside hitter Alli Stumler was named to the Third Team. This marked the first time three Kentucky players from the same squad were named to AVCA All-America teams. UK junior libero Gabby Curry and graduate student middle blocker Leah Meyer received All-America Honorable Mention.

Others to earn Honorable Mention recognition were Rachel Giustino of Murray State, Aiko Jones of Louisville and Lauren Matthews of Western Kentucky.

Final Four begins

The Final Four gets underway Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

No. 1 seed Baylor (29-1) takes on No. 4 Wisconsin (26-6) at 7 p.m. No. 3 Stanford (28-4) faces No. 7 Minnesota (27-5) at 9:30 p.m.

Both matches will be televised by ESPN.

The national championship match, set for Saturday at 8 p.m., will be broadcast on ESPN2.