2014 AVCA All-America Teams

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- In a Wednesday announcement of the 34th annual American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America teams, sophomore Melissa Brum was selected as NCAA Division II Honorable Mention All-America, making her the first Academy of Art University Volleyball athlete ever to earn such an honor. On a grander scale, Brum is only the second fall sport athlete in ART U Athletics history to receive All-American recognition after Urban Knights Cross Country runner Jenny Bergren's 2012 accomplishments.

"I am so honored to have been selected," Brum said. "I couldn't have done anything without my team and coaches so 'Thank you' to them and I can't wait to start working hard to be even better next season."

Brum's sophomore year was highlighted by averages significant at the national level. By the regular season's end, she was fifth in the country in kills per set (4.47) and ninth in the entire NCAA Division II in points per set (4.82). She had 20 double-doubles which were the second-most in program history and became the first Urban Knight to crack the Top 3 in total kills which had previously exclusively belonged to Dan Yang, taking over second with 451 terminations on the year.

In the Pacific West Conference, Brum ranked #1 in total kills and second only to PacWest Player of the Year Shih Ting Chen (BYU-Hawaii) in both kills per set and points per set. Brum's season-high of 23 kills (one off her career-high) came in the season finale when ART U triumphed over Notre Dame de Namur 3-1 on Nov. 15. She contributed a career-high 22 digs on a night where Academy of Art produced its second-most digs in program history.

"I'm very proud of Melissa," head coach Ed Jackson said. "She earned this award and she has proven to be one of the best volleyball players in the country. She has a great outlook on how to train and compete in our sport. She loves the challenge of being the best and is a good leader for our team."

Joining Brum in consideration for the AVCA All-America teams from the Pacific West Conference were BYU-Hawaii's Chen (First Team), Lauren Hackett (Third Team) and Michelle Waber (Honorable Mention) of California Baptist, and Savannah Wedemeyer and Heather Leavitt of Point Loma (both Honorable Mention).