LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its annual AVCA All-Americans awards on Tuesday and Gustavus is represented by Kate Holtan (Sr., Rochester) who was named third team All-American and Hailey Embacher (Sr., Mankato) was named honorable mention.
Holtan earns the All-America nod after her fourth consecutive All-Region honor and being named MIAC Player of the Year. Holtan began the season with her 1,000th career dig in a win over Luther on Sept. 24 and went on to record 15 double-doubles throughout the season. Holtan led the MIAC with 464 kills and 4.11 kills per set. She’s had 19 straight matches of 10 or more kills, and eclipsed 20 kills in six matches this season. Additionally, Holtan added 315 digs and 43 service aces to her resume to rank fifth in the conference. Holtan’s 1,711 career kills makes her the all-time leader in the Gustavus record book, while she is first in kills per set with 3.64, and fifth in digs with 1,289. Additionally, Holtan was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team this weekend at UW-Eau Claire.
Embacher is named All-American Honorable Mention after her first All-Region appearance, and being named MIAC Defensive Player of the year. Embacher’s 531 digs ranked second in the conference, while she averaged 4.7 per set (4th/MIAC). Embacher was also strong on the serve, notching 37 service aces which were the eighth most in the conference. The senior racked up double-digit digs in all but two matches for the Gusties and boasted a season-high 28 against Coe College. Her 1,444 career digs are fourth in program history and she recently eclipsed the century mark with 109 career service aces.