SMU’s Heise Named AAC Libero of the Year
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (SMU) – Morgan Heise was named Libero of the Year in the American Athletic Conference, and the sophomore was one of four Mustangs named to the all-conference team by the league’s coaches, conference officials announced Monday.
Heise, a native of Hempstead, Texas, was joined on the first team by setter Avery Acker and opposite hitter Caroline Young, while middle blocker Janelle Giordano earned second team honors. Heise led the conference with 424 digs against league opponents, and set an SMU single-season record with 626 digs overall. The SMU defense held opponents to a conference-best 0.152 attack percentage for the season, ranking 15th in the NCAA.
The SMU libero averaged 5.13 digs per set overall, 27th in the NCAA. Heise recorded a career-high 38 digs at Arkansas, third most in a match all-time at SMU, and finished with at least 20 in 14 matches, including 11 conference matches. Heise was named Defensive Player of the Week four times, matching conference Player of the Year, DeLaina Sarden, for most weekly awards. Both earned their fourth award in the final week of the regular season.
Acker, the 2013 Setter of the Year, was named to the first team for the second straight season. The junior from Poth, Texas, finished third in the nation with 1,413 assists, third most in a season at SMU, and was
seventh in the country with 11.68 assists per set, seventh in a season at SMU and the highest average since 2004, when games were played to 30 points. She recorded a career-high 62 assists against New Mexico, and tallied 48 in a three-set win at Houston, the most in three sets by an SMU setter since 2004.
Acker also finished with a league-high 902 assists in conference matches, averaging 11.71 per set, setting records in The American for assists both overall and against conference opponents. She recorded a league-high 26 double-doubles, including 17 against The American opponents, and was second on the team with 393 digs, ranking 13th in the conference with 3.33 per set.
Young earned her third straight all-conference first team selection and fourth all-conference award overall, scoring 376 kills to lead the Mustangs for the third consecutive season. The senior from Brenham, Texas, averaged 3.16 kills per set despite playing only in the back row for 10 sets after suffering an ankle injury at Memphis. She also finished second in the league with 45 aces, and sixth with 459.5 points scored overall. Young finished with nine double-doubles, posting 245 digs this season.
Giordano, who was on the first team last season, was voted to the second team as a sophomore after leading The American with 160.0 blocks, third most in a season at SMU, and was 36th in the NCAA with 1.31 blocks per set. She hit .314, 10th in the conference, with 261 kills. The Keller, Texas, native scored a career-high 13.0 blocks in four sets against Connecticut, which is third most in a match at SMU.
The Mustangs set season records for wins, 26, wins at home, 15, home win percentage, .938 (15-1), and overall win percentage, .813 (26-6). SMU finished second in the American Athletic Conference for the second straight season, matching Temple with a 15-5 record in league play, won a program-record 11 consecutive matches, including a 3-2 win against then-No. 24 Oklahoma, the first victory over a ranked opponent in program history, and received votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll for three weeks, earning votes in the poll for the first time.
