In conjunction with the 45th anniversary of Title IX and the 25th anniversary of women’s sports in the Missouri Valley Conference, the league has named a 25-year anniversary team for each women’s sport.
The honorees, which were determined by a 25-person committee, including two representatives from each MVC school and five from the league office, include student-athletes which competed from 1992 to 2017.
Forty-seven volleyball players were nominated and the voters cut the list to a Top 10 after first trimming the list to 25 finalists.
Five Northern Iowa players made the list, while Molly O’Brien (2000-03) received the most votes overall.
Two active players made the list – current Missouri State star Lily Johnson and Wichita State standout Abbie Lehman.
Johnson, a two-time VolleyMob Player of the Week and six-time MVC Player of the Week in 2017, has posted double-digit kills in 24 matches this season, including 20 or more 12 times. She also added double-digit dig tallies 23 times. Historically, the three-time AVCA All-American honorable mention selction has been named MVC Player of the Year twice (2015 and 2016), while also earning the league’s Freshman of the Year nod in 2014. The outside hitter boasts the conference records for kills (2,219), attempts (6,387) and double-digit kill matches (119). She reached the 1,000 career kill milestone as a sophomore and has since joined the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club. Johnson stands as one of just 10 players in NCAA Division I history with at least 2,200 kills and 1,500 digs.
For her part, Lehman managed 968 kills (2.75 kps) and 381 blocks (1.08 bps) in her three years in the Missouri Valley. The three-time honorable mention All-America selection also was a three-time first team All-Valley honoree. Her career included a NCAA record perfect 15-for-15 hitting effort (1.000) against Bradley as a freshman as well as the MVC career record for hitting percentage (.399).
Since the Shockers relocated to the American Athletic Conference in 2017, Lehman has managed 334 kills (3.63 kps) and 121 blocks (1.32 bps), while hitting at a .428 clip. That tally has included 21 double-digit kill efforts and 13 five or more block performances.
Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Volleyball 25-Year Team
| Name | School | Years | Notable Honors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindsay Stalzer | Bradley | 2002-05 | 3-time All-MVC, MVC Freshman of the Year, 2005 MVC Player of the Year, 2nd on All-Time MVC Kills List |
| Ashley Rosch | Illinois State | 2012-15 | 4-time All-MVC, 2014 MVC Tournament MVP, 2012 MVC Freshman of the Year |
| Lily Johnson | Missouri State | 2014-Present | 3-time All-MVC, 2-time MVC Player of the Year, 3-time AVCA Honorable Mention All-America; MVC All-Time Kills Leader |
| Linette White | Missouri State | 2000-03 | 3-time All-MVC, 2003 MVC Co-Player of the Year, 2003 AVCA All-America |
| Jill Arganbright | UNI | 2000-03 | 4-time All-MVC, MVC All-Time Assist Leader |
| Kara Galer | UNI | 1992-95 | 2-time All-MVC, 2-time MVC Player of the Year, 2-time MVC Tourney MVP |
| *Molly O’Brien | UNI | 2000-03 | 4-time All-MVC, 3-time MVC Player of the Year, 2-time MVC Tourney MVP, MVC Freshman of the Year, AVCA All-America, MVC Hall of Fame |
| Bre Payton | UNI | 2008-11 | 3-time All-MVC, 3-time MVC Player of the Year, 2-time MVC Tourney MVP, 2-time AVCA All-America |
| Shannon Perry | UNI | 1996-99 | 3-time All-MVC, 2-time MVC Player of the year, AVCA All-America |
| Abbie Lehman | Wichita State | 2014-16 | 3-time All-MVC, 3-time AVCA All-America, MVC All-Time Career Hitting % leader |
*denotes No. 1 choice in balloting
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