Gibbons, Higgins and Newton Receive AVCA All-America Honors

(LEXINGTON, Ky.) – Six days after being selected to the All-North Region team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), senior middle blocker Jackie Gibbons (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), senior libero Molly Higgins (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) and senior setter Emily Newton (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Chadwick School) of the Carnegie Mellon University volleyball team earned All-America Honorable Mention from the AVCA.  

This marks the first time in program history that multiple Tartans have received the accolade in the same season. Gibbons is a repeat honoree while Newton and Higgins are making their first appearance on the All-America squad.

Gibbons led the team with a .319 hitting percentage and ranked fifth individually in the University Athletic Association (UAA) while also tops on the team averaging 2.64 kills per game. Her 312 kills ranked second among her teammates. The senior also finished second on the team with 77 blocks. She tallied a career-best 19 kills in the Tartans' victory over John Carroll earlier this year as well as tabbing her 1,000th career kill. Gibbons ended her career ranked eighth on the school's all-time kill list with 1,125.

Higgins led the UAA with 651 digs and 5.38 digs per game, marking the second straight season the senior has accomplished the top spot in both categories. Her 43 service aces are tops on the team and ranked fourth in the UAA. In the same match that Gibbons recorded her 1,000th career kill, Higgins collected her 2,000th dig. She ended her career ranked second on the school's all-time digs list with 2,240. Higgins recorded a career-best 46 digs in the Tartans UAA semifinal win over Chicago.

Newton finished the season as the team leader with 1,088 assists which ranked her third in the UAA. Earlier in the season, Newton tallied her 3,000th career assist and finishes her career ranked fifth on the school's all-time assist list with 3,525. The senior ranked third on the team with 42 blocks and fourth with 30 service aces.  In the Tartans UAA semifinal win over Chicago, Newton tied her career-high with 54 assists, as it also marked her fourth match of 50 or more assists this season.