Division II Volleyball Announces 2022 Postseason Awards

The 2022 Division II Volleyball All-Conference, All-Region and Special Awards have been announced for 2022. 

Of the 10 teams in the conference, 34 players were selected across four All-Conference designations -- as well as two separate All-Region teams based on the tournament seeding of Region 11-A and B. All awards were voted on by all 10 coaches in the conference. 

Iowa Central's Katilyn Steffes was awarded the league's highest honor as the ICCAC Division II Volleyball Player of the Year. Steffers, a third-year outside hitter, helped lead Iowa Central their fifth consecutive regular season conference championship and third straight NJCAA National Tournament appearance. She leads the nation in kills with 713 in 37 matches -- and tops the country as well with 5.37 kills per set with a kill percentage of .311. She had double-digit kill performances in every match but one -- had 18 matches with 20 or more kills and a season-high 32 kills, twice. 

Steffes becomes the fourth player in Iowa Central history to win the award joining Gabby Sullivan, Amaya Finley and Alesha Johnson. 

Joining Steffes on First Team All-Conference in 2022 from Iowa Central was Jori Hajek. Hajek, who doubles as the Tritons' softball shortstop in the spring, was opposite of Steffes on offense. She was 10th in the ICCAC in total kills with 348, but her all-around ability is what earned her status. Hajek was sixth in the conference in digs with 561, leading all non liberos in that category. 

Kirkwood, the Region 11-B Champions, had two players on First Team All-Conference after reaching their sixth NJCAA Tournament in a row. 

Headlining their selections was freshman hitter Ava Moore. Moore, the ICCAC Freshman of the Year, led the balanced Eagle offense with 349 kills, 2.41 per set. She also averaged over a block per set while hitting at a .235 rate. 

Also from the Eagle roster was Alyssa Tegeler. The middle blocker was second in the conference in blocks with 194 total averaging 1.24 blocks per set. She also added 325 kills as Kirkwood's second-leading scorer. 

DMACC's, who finished as the Region 11-B runners up, taking Kirkwood to five sets in the regional final, was represented on First Team All-Conference by sophomore setter Sara Hansen. Hansen was sixth in the conference in assists with 931 averaging third-most at 8.78 per set. 

Hawkeye had two players on the 10 player First Team in sophomores Allie Driscol and Haley Eckerman. Driscol was the team's setter and finished the season with 752 assists, while Eckerman was one of the RedTails top hitters with 308 kills.

Northeast's touted freshman Karley Heimes earned First Team recognition. As one of three freshmen (Morris & Tegeler), Heimes was the go-to on offense for the Hawks. She is second in the country in kills and kills per set behind Steffes with 622 kills and 5.02 per set. She averaged just under six points per set. 

Also on the First Team was the nation's leader in digs, Iowa Lakes' Kylie Kline. Kline, another third year player, reached the 2000-dig mark this season and leads the country with 873 total digs. Her 5.26 per set was 25th most in the country.

Rounding out the 2022 First Team All-Conference honorees is Southeastern's Raevyn Russell. Russell put the Blackhawks on her back throughout the season, finishing the year with 510 kills (9th most in NJCAA). 

For the fifth year in a row, the ICCAC Division II Volleyball Coach of the Year award went to Sara Horn of Iowa Central. Given to the ICCAC regular season champions, the Tritons took home their fifth-straight regular season conference title. To date, Iowa Central is 34-5 and was No. 5 in the final NJCAA poll. Iowa Central has won 25 straight conference matches over Division II opponents dating back to spring of 2021.