Columbia College Volleyball Players Earn AMC Postseason Honors

The Columbia College volleyball team secured a share of the American Midwest Conference regular-season title with a 17-1 league record, and the Cougars led the league in postseason honors.

Ending the regular season with a 31-7 overall record, the Cougars head into the AMC Tournament as the defending champion. Last fall, the program swept Stephens to claim its 25th conference tournament title.

Taylor Johnson claimed the AMC Defensive Player of the Year award alongside a First Team All-Conference selection. Johnson played in all 124 sets, leading the squad with 610 digs, which translates to 4.92 per set, while also putting up 54 service aces and 109 assists.

The standout defender earned the conference’s Defender of the Week honor for five consecutive weeks, stretching from week seven through week eleven. Her career defensive total now stands at 1,333 digs.

Columbia placed three players on the First Team All-Conference roster, tying with Crowley’s Ridge for the most selections in the league. Viola Giangreco joined Johnson on the first team for her second career selection, playing in all 124 sets and leading the team with 305 kills on a .277 attack percentage.

Hannah Vogt picked up her first Team nod and her third career All-Conference honor overall. Vogt averaged 5.50 assists per set, totaling 676 assists, while pacing the Cougars with 78 service aces and adding 233 digs.

Alayna Backes earned a Second Team All-Conference spot in her first season with the Cougars. Backes led the team with 130 total blocks, including 27 solo stops, and contributed 166 kills on a .293 attack percentage.

Alexa Olson also landed on the Second Team for her second career conference honor after dishing out 591 assists at a clip of 4.93 per set. Olson added 209 digs and 13 service aces to bring her career assist total to 1,611.

Kenedi Canty secured an Honorable Mention spot for her second career conference honor. Canty tallied 158 kills on a .247 attack percentage and finished second on the team with 109 total blocks.

Isabella Kincaid earned her second career Honorable Mention recognition after ranking second on the team with 278 kills and 358 digs. Kincaid also recorded 19 service aces and 49 blocks.

Heather Bana was named to the AMC Champions of Character Team for the third straight season. Bana majors in biochemistry and has consistently picked up Academic All-Conference and NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete honors.

Across the wider roster, 17 Cougars earned Academic All-Conference recognition. The team collected 10 AMC Player of the Week awards during the regular season, tying Williams Baptist for the most in the league, with eight of those coming from the defensive category.