Nolan, Schaben Earn All-Region Honors

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State libero Caitlin Nolan was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I All-Midwest Region First Team for the second-straight season, while freshman outside hitter Jess Schaben was named the Midwest Region Freshman of the Year and earned Honorable Mention Division I All-Midwest Region, the AVCA announced Tuesday.

Nolan becomes the seventh player in Iowa State history to make an All-Region First Team multiple times, joining Kristen Hahn, Victoria Henson, Alison Landwehr, Kaylee Manns, Ashley Mass and Jamie Straube. Schaben is Iowa State's second Regional Freshman of the Year, joining Mackenzie Bigbee, who picked up the award in 2012. She is also the first Cyclone freshman to earn an All-Region honor, First Team or Honorable Mention.

Nolan, a two-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree and the two-time Big 12 Libero of the Year, had another outstanding season for the Cyclones. The senior led the Big 12 and ranked fifth in the NCAA with her 5.78 digs per set. Nolan's 618 digs on the season is the third-most in a season in ISU history, and she is the third player (Kristen Hahn and Steph McCannon) to have multiple 600-dig seasons in her Iowa State career. The Southlake, Texas native had eight of the 14 highest single-match dig totals in the Big 12 in 2015. Nolan had 15 matches with at least 20 digs and four matches with at least 30 digs on the season, and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week three times.

Schaben, the 2015 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, had one of the top debut campaigns in Iowa State history. The Defiance, Iowa native led ISU with 345 kills at 3.29 kps, the second-most kills by a freshman in Iowa State history. Her .265 hitting percentage was the best by an ISU outside hitter since Victoria Henson hit .272 in 2010. She recorded 20 matches with at least 10 kills, including reaching double figures in both of ISU's NCAA Volleyball Championship matches. Along with being the Big 12's Freshman of the Year, Schaben was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team and All-Big 12 Second Team. She was a four-time Big 12 Rookie of the Week during the season.

Players Mentioned

Mackenzie Bigbee

Caitlin Nolan

Jess Schaben

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