INDIANAPOLIS – The stars of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference were awarded by various media outlets during the 2019 season for regional and national honors.
 
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), all released their annual awards as the postseason ended.
 
Hillsdale represented the Great Midwest in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional for the third consecutive season. The Chargers advanced all the way to regional final before seeing their outstanding tournament run ended by Rockhurst in Romeoville, Ill.
 
Hillsdale captured the conference regular season and tournament titles for the third straight year while finishing with a 28-4 overall record. The Chargers also ended up No. 12 in the final national Division II Poll by the AVCA.
 
The conference had two of the very best in the country patrolling the court as Hillsdale’s Allyssa Van Wienen and Tiffin’s Jenna Huffman earned almost every eligible distinction for their season performances.
 
Van Wienen was the Great Midwest Player of the Year and Huffman secured first team all-conference accolades for the second time in a row.
 
Both Van Wienen and Huffman were tabbed as AVCA All-Americans – joining a prestigious list of student-athletes from the league that include Hillsdale’s Paige VanderWall (2017, 2018), Findlay’s Shelby Kin (2018), Hillsdale’s Kara Vyletel (2017), Findlay’s Amanda Winner (2017) and Hailee Olson (2017) and Cedarville’s Gabby Olson (2016).
 
Van Wienen is the lone first team AVCA All-American in conference history after her former teammate VanderWall was a second-team lock in 2018.
 
Huffman led all of Division II with 4.76 kills per set, 5.34 points per set, 13.21 attacks per set, and 562 total kills. She was also third in total attacks with 1,559. Her 4.76 kills per set is a new single-season record for both Tiffin and the conference.
 
A tremendous 3.88 GPA for Huffman in the classroom also translated into CoSIDA Second Team All-America honors.
 
Cedarville’s Lauren Willow gave the Yellow Jackets an AVCA All-American in the middle as she earned first team all-conference recognition for the second straight year. She was also a second team all-league choice as a freshman by the coaches.
 
 
AVCA All-America Team
First Team
Middle Blocker – Allyssa Van Wienen (Hillsdale), Junior
 
Third Team
Outside Hitter – Jenna Huffman (Tiffin), Senior
 
Honorable Mention
Libero – Taylor Wiese (Hillsdale) – Senior
Middle Blocker – Lauren Willow (Cedarville) – Junior
 
AVCA Midwest Region Team
Outside Hitter - Jenna Huffman (Tiffin), Senior
Middle Blocker - Allyssa Van Wienen (Hillsdale), Junior
Libero - Taylor Wiese (Hillsdale), Senior
 
Honorable Mention
Middle Blocker - Lauren Willow (Cedarville)
 
Midwest Region Coach of the Year – Chris Gravel (Hillsdale)
 
D2CCA All-America Team
First Team
Outside Hitter – Jenna Huffman (Tiffin), Senior
Middle Blocker – Allyssa Van Wienen (Hillsdale), Junior
 
D2CCA All-Midwest Region Team
First Team
Outside Hitter – Jenna Huffman (Tiffin), Senior
Middle Blocker – Allyssa Van Wienen (Hillsdale), Junior
Libero – Taylor Wiese (Hillsdale), Senior
 
Second Team
Outside Hitter – Karoline Shelton (Hillsdale), Sophomore
Setter – Lindsey Mertz (Hillsdale), Junior
 
CoSIDA Academic All-America Team
Second Team
Outside Hitter – Jenna Huffman (Tiffin), Senior
 
CoSIDA Academic All-District Team
District 4 First Team
Outside Hitter – Jenna Huffman (Tiffin), Senior