Three Cougars Receive All-America Honors

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The 21st annual AVCA Division I-II Men's All-America Teams were announced with Taylor Sander, Futi Tavana and Robb Stowell of the BYU men's volleyball included in the list of honorees.

BYU, USC and Penn State University all tied for the most athletes honored with three lauded individuals while Stanford, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara all had two honorees each.

Tavana received first team honors with Sander and Stowell receiving recognition on the second team. Sander was also named the AVCA Division I-II Men's Newcomer of the Year.

Sander, a 6-4 outside hitter freshman from Norco, Calif., was also recently named the MPSF Freshman of the Year and ranks nationally in hitting percentage, kills per set and aces per set leading the Cougars to as high as a No. 2 ranking in the AVCA Division I-II Top-15 Coaches Poll.

Tavana, a 6-8 middle blocker from Kalaheo, Hawai’i, is BYU's big man in the middle, ranks second nationally in Division I-II in blocks per set, while leading the Cougars to a 20-8 record in 2011. Tavana, who was selected to the All-MPSF First-Team, is now a two-time AVCA All-American.

Stowell, a 6-7 opposite from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., ranks in the top-10 nationally in kills per set while also ranking nationally in hitting percentage. The California native’s excellent season was rewarded with an appearance on the All-MPSF First-Team and his first AVCA All-American honor.

AVCA Division I-II All-America First Team

Player, School - Position - Year

Steven Kehoe, Ohio State - Setter - Senior

Brad Lawson, Stanford - OH - Junior

Riley McKibbin, USC - Setter - Senior

Jeff Menzel, UCSB - OH - Senior

Erik Shoi, Stanford - Libero - Junior

Joe Sunder, Penn State - OH - Junior

Futi Tavana, BYU - MB - Junior

Murphy Troy, USC - OPP - Senior

Jonas Umlauft, Hawaii - OPP - Sophomore

Cory Yoder, UC Irvine - OH - Senior

AVCA Division I-II All-America Second Team

Player, School - Position - Year

Antwain Aguillard, Long Beach State - MB - Senior

Mike Bunting, Loyola Chicago - OH - Junior

Tony Ciarelli, USC - OH - Junior

Carson Clark, UC Irvine - OPP - Junior

Dennis Del Valle, Penn State - Libero - Senior

Taylor Sander, BYU - OH - Freshman

Edgardo Goas, Penn State - Setter - Junior

Andy McGuire, UC Santa Barbara - Libero - Senior

Anders Nelson, Ball State - MB - Senior

Robb Stowell, BYU - OPP - Junior

The 2011 selections were made by the AVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball All-America Committee: chairperson Mark Pavlik (Penn State); Fred Chao (George Mason); Shane Davis (Loyola-Chicago); Bill Ferguson (Southern California); Dan Friend (Lewis); John Kosty (Stanford); Rick McLaughlin (UC Santa Barbara); Mike Rumbaugh (Saint Francis); and Joel Walton (Ball State).

The AVCA Division I-II Men's Player of the Year will be announced at the NCAA championship banquet held on May 4.