Four Cougars receive WCC All-Academic honors

SAN MATEO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference recognized four members of the BYU women’s volleyball team when it announced the WCC Volleyball All-Academic Team for the 2020-21 spring season on Tuesday.

All-American middle blocker Kennedy Eschenberg headlined this year’s WCC All-Academic First Team while making her third first team appearance. BYU opposite hitter Kate Grimmer earned a spot on the first team while setter Whitney Bower and serving specialist Tayler Hifo received All-Academic Honorable Mention.

At the conclusion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each WCC-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must be a sophomore, maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a significant contributor to her team.

Eschenberg was named to the AVCA All-America Third Team after leading the Cougars to their ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, including the team’s eighth Sweet 16 in nine seasons. She ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division I with an average of 1.58 blocks per set and No. 10 nationally with a .435 hitting percentage. The middle blocker totaled 135 kills and only 18 errors in 269 attempts while leading the team with 82 blocks.

Grimmer totaled 185 kills, the second-most on the team while ending the season with a .318 hitting percentage and earning spots on the All-WCC First Team and AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team. The sophomore also posted 40 blocks and 32 digs to her season stat line.

The 2020 WCC Player and Setter of the Year, Bower received AVCA All-America Honorable Mention after guiding one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Bower ended the year with 676 assists, 221 digs, 48 kills, 28 blocks and 22 aces while tallying 11 double-doubles in 19 matches. The sophomore averaged 10.38 assists per set to help the Cougar rank No. 5 nationally in assists per set (13.41), No. 5 in team hitting percentage (.302) and No. 8 in kills per set (14.29).

Appearing in all 63 sets, Hifo recorded the second-most aces on the team last season with 18. She posted career performances in back-to-back matches against Loyola Marymount, dropping four aces in each match. The junior also tallied 16 assists and 23 digs on the year.

The complete list of WCC All-Academic honors can be found on wccsports.com.