Five Ravens Garner All-HCAC Honors

Five Anderson University volleyball players received all-conference recognition, which was announced by the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) on Tuesday.

Reece Kral and Jayda Lanham were selected to the all-HCAC first team while Paige Ricica and Taylor Ridge earned second-team all-HCAC recognition. Lanham was tabbed the HCAC Newcomer of the Year. Blythe Young and Lanham were each named to the HCAC All-Newcomer Team.

Anderson earned two first-team all-HCAC selections for the first time since 2009. The Ravens also earned their first major award since Caitlin Morency was named HCAC Defensive MVP in 2009.

"We could not be prouder of this group of individuals and team," Coach Tami Miller said. "To have such an amazing representation of awards for Anderson is humbling."

Jayda Lanham (5-10 Freshman Outside Hitter; Venice, Fla./Venice)

• HCAC Newcomer of the Year (2024)
• First-Team All-HCAC (2024)
• HCAC All-Newcomer Team (2024)
• Conference-Only Stat Totals – 38 Sets Played, 138 Kills, 53 Attack Errors, 426 Attacks, 26 Service Aces, 144 Digs, 169.5 Points
• Conference-Only Stat Set Averages – 0.68 Service Aces (T-1 in HCAC), 4.46 Points (2nd in HCAC), 3.63 Kills (5th in HCAC), 3.79 Digs, .200 Hitting Percentage
• Overall Stat Totals – 91 Sets Played, 277 Kills (10th in Anderson 25-Point Era), 135 Attack Errors, 858 Attacks, 52 Service Aces, 400 Receptions, 281 Digs, 341 Points (7th in Anderson 25-Point Era)
• Overall Stat Set Averages – 3.75 Points (1st in HCAC), 0.57 Service Aces (2nd in HCAC), 3.04 Kills (7th in HCAC), 3.09 Digs, .166 Hitting Percentage
• Coach Tami Miller's Comments – Jayda Lanham has been the best surprise to our program. Coming away with three awards speaks to her talent and level of play. She has been an outstanding all-around player for us this fall.

Reece Kral (6-2 Graduate Senior Middle Hitter/Outside Hitter; Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point/Ball State University)

• First-Team All-HCAC (2024)
• Rose-Hulman Invitational All-Tournament Team (2024)
• Conference-Only Stats – 35 Sets Played, 100 Kills, 31 Attack Errors, 269 Attacks, 33 Blocks, 122 Points
• Conference-Only Stat Set Averages – 0.94 Blocks (2nd in HCAC), 3.49 Points (10th in HCAC), .257 Hitting Percentage, 2.86 Kills
• Overall Stat Totals – 86 Sets Played, 260 Kills, 79 Attack Errors, 624 Attacks, 75 Blocks (6th in Anderson 25-Point Era), 321.5 Points (10th in Anderson 25-Point Era)
• Overall Stat Set Averages – 3.74 Points (2nd in HCAC), 0.87 Blocks (3rd in HCAC), .290 Hitting Percentage (5th in HCAC), 3.02 Kills (8th in HCAC)
• Coach Tami Miller's Comments – We knew that Reece Kral was going to be a nice addition to our roster and she has proven to be a great offensive threat all season.

Paige Ricica (5-8 Sophomore Outside Hitter/Middle Hitter; Bryan, Ohio/Fairview)

• Second-Team All-HCAC (2023, 2024)
• All-HCAC Newcomer Team (2023)
• Conference-Only Stat Totals – 38 Sets Played, 99 Kills, 52 Attack Errors, 391 Attacks, 10 Service Aces, 116 Digs, 14 Blocks, 117.5 Points
• Conference-Only Stat Set Averages – 3.09 Points, 2.61 Kills, 0.26 Service Aces, 3.05 Digs, 0.37 Blocks
• Overall Stat Totals – 91 Sets Played, 249 Kills, 108 Attack Errors, 796 Attacks, 32 Service Aces, 369 Receptions, 227 Digs, 32 Blocks
• Overall Stat Set Averages – 3.30 Points (9th in HCAC), 2.74 Kills (10th in HCAC), .177 Hitting Percentage, 0.35 Service Aces, 2.49 Digs, 0.35 Blocks
• Coach Tami Miller's Comments – Paige Ricica is coming off a great freshman year and continued her success into the sophomore season. She and Jayda make a great combination on the floor together.

Taylor Ridge (5-8 Sophomore Middle Hitter; Speedway, Ind./Speedway)

• Second-Team All-HCAC (2024)
• Rose-Hulman Invitational All-Tournament Team (2024)
• Conference-Only Stat Totals – 38 Sets Played, 86 Kills, 33 Attack Errors, 211 Attacks, 8 Service Aces, 21 Blocks, 105.5 Points
• Conference-Only Stat Set Averages – .251 Hitting Percentage, 2.26 Kills, 0.21 Service Aces, 0.55 Blocks, 2.78 Points
• Overall Stat Totals – 91 Sets Played, 212 Kills, 79 Attack Errors, 500 Attacks, 28 Service Aces, 52 Blocks
• Overall Stat Set Averages – .266 Hitting Percentage, 2.33 Kills, 0.31 Service Aces, 0.57 Blocks, 2.96 Points
• Coach Tami Miller's Comments – Taylor Ridge has had an impressive season. The numbers she has put together this year and the growth that we have seen from her speaks of her hard work and dedication this year.

Blythe Young (5-6 Freshman Setter; Avon, Ind./Avon)

• HCAC All-Newcomer Team (2024)
• Millikin Invitational All-Tournament Team (2024)
• Conference-Only Stat Totals – 38 Sets Played, 420 Assists, 100 Digs, 16 Blocks
• Conference-Only Stat Set Averages – 11.05 Assists (2nd in HCAC), 2.63 Digs, 0.42 Blocks
• Overall Stat Totals – 92 Sets Played, 992 Assists (2nd in Anderson 25-Point Era), 226 Digs
• Overall Stat Set Averages – 10.78 Assists (7th in NCAA D-III, 1st in HCAC), 2.46 Digs
• Coach Tami Miller's Comments – Blythe Young has worked tirelessly to lead our offense and is so deserving to be part of the all-newcomer team. She is another bright spot to this young team.

UP NEXT

Sixth-seeded Anderson (17-8) clashes with third-seeded Manchester University (16-10) in the HCAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in North Manchester.