Jacksonville University volleyball junior libero Kariana Ayala-Drew was named ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Haley Hart was named ASUN Second Team All-Conference as announced by the league Wednesday afternoon.
"I think it's obvious to anyone who watches our team how talented Kari is as a volleyball player, but receiving this honor really demonstrates what a complete Student-Athlete she is. We are so proud of her for all the time, effort, and dedication she puts in to being the best representative of JU Volleyball and the Jacksonville University community."
The Bayamon, Puerto Rico native majors in Kinesiology with a 4.0 GPA. In 2021 she was named to the ASUN Honor Roll.
In 2011 Head Coach Maggie Johnson was the inaugural winner of this award, with Ayala-Drew following in her footsteps. She is the first in program history to claim this honor.
On the court she ended this season with 493 digs and 19 service aces. On Sept. 19, 2022, she was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Week. She recorded a 35-dig performance in the thrilling five- set victory over Troy. Ayala-Drew averaged 5.17 digs per set which landed her 14th in the country and third in the ASUN.
"Haley has had an impressive year this season, leading our team in both kills and blocks. She set career highs on the way to having one of the best seasons a middle blocker has ever had in this program. She is a complete a player at her position and made it clear that she was one of the best in the ASUN. She has left her mark on Jacksonville Volleyball in a short time, and we are so proud of her for achieving this All-Conference honor."
Haley Hart earned her first ASUN postseason accolade. The Frankfort, Ill native had an outstanding year appearing in 27 matches as a graduate transfer. Over the season she amassed 339 kills with a hitting percentage of .333 and averaged 3.32 kills per set, which are both career highs and is the Dolphins leader in those categories.
She added 121 total blocks, good for second on the team and reached two notable career milestones during the 2022 campaign. She reached 400 career blocks on October 1 at Lipscomb and tallied her 1000th career kill at Liberty on October 14. Hart totaled 19 matches this season with 10 or more kills, including four matches with 20+ kills. She is ranked top-10 in the ASUN in eight different statistical categories including: Kills, Kills/set, Hitting Percentage, Blocks/set, Total Blocks, and Solo Blocks.
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