Livingston, Gneiting named AVCA All-American Honorable Mentions

LEXINGTON, Ky. — BYU women's volleyball senior middle blocker Heather Gneiting and junior outside hitter Erin Livingston were named American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Honorable Mentions, the organization announced on Wednesday. 

Both Gneiting and Livingston received AVCA Pacific South All-Region honors a week ago after helping BYU women's volleyball to its 11th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a runner-up finish in the Cougars' final season in the West Coast Conference this year. 

Named to the Third Team as a freshman in 2018, this is Gneiting's second AVCA All-American honor. The middle blocker led the team in aces (32) and total blocks (121) this season, finishing second on the team in kills, with 244. A four-time AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team member and All-WCC First Teamer, Gneiting concluded her BYU career tied with the third-highest hitting percentage all-time, at .356.

With 91 career service aces, Gneiting finished tied for 10th in the rally scoring era. Averaging 1.23 blocks per set this season, she ranked No. 47 in the country in that statistical category. The Pleasant Grove, Utah native tallied 524 total blocks for her career, good for No. 6 in the rally scoring era at BYU. Gneiting's 52 solo blocks rank second in the rally scoring era. 

Livingston earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and Pacific South All-Region Team honors for the first time in her career this season. Leading the team with 437 kills for the year, she hit .304 for the season, while ranking No. 15 nationwide in kills per set (4.46) and No. 16 in points per set (4.95). Livingston was also 60th in attacks per set, at 10.65, with all three metrics leading the WCC.

Out of Corona, California, Livingston paced the Cougars to a .298 season hitting percentage, the fourth-highest in the nation. Also being named to the All-WCC First Team for the first time, she recorded double-digit kills in all but one of BYU's 29 matches this season, leading the team in kills during 26 of those matches.

Dating back to 2011, BYU has now had at least one player receive AVCA All-American honors for 12-straight seasons. View the full list of All-American honorees on the AVCA website.