Mikayla Shields Named to AVCA All-Region Team
Dec. 5, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its 2017 All-Region teams Tuesday, and South Carolina’s Mikayla Shields made the 14-woman All-Southeast squad. She is the 20th Gamecock in program history to earn a spot on the AVCA’s All-Region list, and the first Carolina sophomore since Niece Curry in 2002 to earn regional honors.
Shields set the sophomore record for kills this season, leading the team with 429. The total was the fourth-most in the rally-scoring era, and moved her past 700 kills for her young career. Just two other Gamecocks in program history reached 700 kills in just their first two seasons with the team ââ’¬” Shonda Cole in 2004 and Lori Rowe in 1984. She wasn’t just a volume hitter, though, as she finished second on the team with a .284 hitting percentage over her 1,045 swings; just three other Gamecocks in program history have 1,000 attacks or more with a higher hitting percentage than Shields.
It wasn’t just Shields’ offense that opened eyes nationally. The Orlando, Fla. native finished second on the team with 283 kills and had 11 double-doubles for the year. At the net, her 17 solo blocks set a sophomore record and were the fourth-most in a season in the rally-scoring era.
For her efforts, Shields made the All-SEC team at the end of the season. She’s the first Gamecock ever to receive an all-conference honor the year after making the SEC All-Freshman team, and is the fourth All-SEC representative for South Carolina over the last decade. Shields and Juliette Thévenin are the only two Gamecocks to make the AVCA regional team in the last decade.
Shields is now in the running for the AVCA’s All-America team. Should she make the cut, she would be the first in Carolina history to be honored. Cole and Thévenin earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2006 and 2013, respectively.
