Senior middle blocker Dylan Davis added to his rapidly growing trophy cabinet on Thursday morning, as he was announced as a First-Team All-American selection by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
This is Davis’s first time earning All-American honors. He was the only middle blocker in the country to be named to the First Team.
Davis is UC Santa Barbara’s first recipient of All-American honors since outside hitter Jeff Menzel and libero Andy McGuire were recognized following the 2011 season.
“We are very proud of what Dylan has accomplished during his four years at UCSB, ” said men’s volleyball head coach Rick McLaughlin. “He has worked extremely hard and is very deserving of this award. We will miss him a great deal next year.”
The 6’9” middle blocker put together one of the most prolific seasons by a front-row player in Gaucho history. Both his .438 hitting percentage and 151 total blocks led the country at the end of the regular season.
Davis was a consistent threat for the Gauchos through the entirety of the season, but there were several occasions when he would simply take over the match. The senior garnered double-digit kills five times and recorded 10 or more blocks three times. He even recorded the rare achievement of a double-double by a middle blocker two times this season, finishing with lines of 11 kills and 14 blocks at USC on Feb. 21 and 13 kills and 10 blocks against Cal State Northridge on Mar. 13.
Davis finished his career with the third most total blocks (441) and the highest block assist (384) total in program history. He was the only non-senior starter on the 2011 UCSB squad which advanced to the NCAA Final Four, where he set an NCAA Tournament record with an .882 hitting percentage in the semifinal match against the top-ranked USC Trojans.
