AMES, Iowa – Junior setter Alison Landwehr garnered her first all-America honor Wednesday, selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-America. Outside hitter Carly Jenson earned a spot on the all-America second team and both libero Kristen Hahn and middle blocker Jamie Straube were named honorable mentions. It is the first honor for Landwehr, Jenson and Hahn. Straube was an honorable mention a season ago.
Landwehr is only the third Cyclone ever named to the all-America first team, following in the footsteps of former Cyclones Victoria Henson and Ashley Mass. The Big 12 leader in assists this season with an overall average of 11.46 assists per set, Landwehr ranked 15th in the nation in assists per set. The St. Louis, Mo. native currently ranks sixth in the Iowa State record books with a career total of 2,549 assists and her 66 assists against Florida State in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight this season was the most by a Cyclone since the 2008 season. A second-year starter, Landwehr was one of two Big 12 players to reach 60 assists in a match twice this season.
Omaha, Neb. native Jenson led the Cyclones’ offense this season, posting 3.86 kills per set and 4.04 kills per set in league play, ranked third in the Big 12. Jenson also cracked the top 10 in the conference with 3.35 digs per set on the year, second on the team to libero Hahn, and was ranked fifth with 4.32 points per set. The senior leaves Iowa State ranked in the top 20 in school history for career kills (795), kills per set (3.07), attack attempts (2,299) and digs (728).
Hahn, in her first season as the Cyclones’ starting libero, led the Big 12 with 5.44 digs per set, an average ranked second all-time at Iowa State for digs per set in a single season. The sophomore is only the second Cyclone ever to average more than 5.00 digs per set in a season. The Big 12 Libero of the Year is also the third player all-time at Iowa State to amass more than 600 digs in a season, totaling 609 this season, ranked second in program history. Hahn is the only Big 12 player to reach 35 digs in a match this season, doing so at North Dakota State. In all, the Cedar Rapids native tallied 30 digs in a match twice and more than 25 digs in 15 matches.
Hailing from Tecumseh, Neb., Straube garnered her second all-America honor after leading Iowa State in hitting for the second-straight season, smashing kills at a rate of .323 on the season. A force at the net for the Cyclones, Straube was second on the team with 0.98 blocks per set this season and, as she heads into her senior season, ranks 13th all-time at Iowa State with 46 solo blocks, eighth in block assists with 268 and eighth in total career blocks, totaling 314.
This season marks the third-straight in which Iowa State has placed at least three players on all-America teams or the honorable mention list. It is also the third-consecutive season in which a Cyclone has earned first team honors.
