Alli Stumler AVCA Region Player of Year; Grome Freshman of Year
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Alli Stumler was named the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches’ Association Region Player of the Year, Emma Grome was named the Region Freshman of the Year and five Wildcats were placed on the 2021 All-Southeast Region Team, the association announced Tuesday.
Stumler’s awarding of player of the year marks the fifth-straight season that a Kentucky Wildcat has won the Southeast Region Player of the Year award as she joins the elite company of Leah Edmond (2017, 2019) and Madison Lilley (2018 and 2020-21).
Grome, who was also named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year, becomes the third Kentucky player ever to be named the Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, joining Edmond (2016) and Lilley (2017).
Azhani Tealer, Eleanor Beavin and Madi Skinner were joined by Stumler and Grome on the all-region team. The five players placed on the all-region team are the most of any school in the region. South Alabama’s Jessie Ortiz was the coach of the year.
Kentucky players on the AVCA All-Southeast Region Team included:
Eleanor Beavin
- SEC Libero of the Year
- Three-time SEC Freshman of the Week
- SEC All-Freshman Team
Emma Grome
- SEC Freshman of the Year
- All-SEC
- Seven-time SEC Setter of the Week or Freshman of the Week
Madi Skinner
- All-SEC
- SEC Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week (11/22)
- Led Kentucky with 3.78 kills per set in 2021
Alli Stumler
- SEC Player of the Year
- All-SEC
- Averaged 3.60 kills per set and 2.24 digs per set
Azhani Tealer
- All-SEC
- Three-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week
- Averaged 1.13 blocks per set and 2.58 kills per set in 2021
2021 AVCA All-Southeast Regional Team
Eleanor Beavin, Kentucky
T’ara Caesar, Florida
Lauren Forte, Florida
Emma Grome, Kentucky
Thayer Hall, Florida
Danielle Mahaffey, Tennessee
Kyla Manning, South Carolina
McKenna Melville, UCF
Marlie Monserez, Florida
Erin Shomaker, FGCU
Madi Skinner, Kentucky
Alli Stumler, Kentucky
Azhani Tealer, Kentucky
Ann-Marie Watson, UCF
All members of the all-region team are now potential selections for a spot on the three AVCA All-America Teams, which will be announced during the NCAA Final Four in Columbus in two weeks.
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