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BELLEVUE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
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Sierra Athen

5 Sierra Athen

  • Height:
    5-10
  • Year:
    Jr.
  • Hometown:
    Red Oak, Iowa
  • Position:
    OH
  • Previous School(s):
    Red Oak HS
m 34
k/s 2.99
h % .202
a/s 0.30
b/s 0.46
sa/s 0.25
d/s 2.65

Honors and Awards

2021 Season (Junior): Named a third-team NAIA All-American, while also garnering first-team AVCA all-North Central Region and first-team all-NSAA accolades for a third-consecutive season ... Starting outside hitter in all 34 matches ... Second on the team with 359 kills and third with 319 digs ... Led the Bruins with 30 service aces ... Compiled 55 total aces on the season ... Third on the team with nine double-doubles ... Became the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career ... Registered 21 matches with double-figure kill totals, including a season-high 17 kills in a five-set loss at No. 2-ranked Viterbo on Nov. 5 ... Produced a career-high five service aces in the Bruins' 3-0 sweep over Dickinson State on Oct. 1.

2020 Season (Junior - COVID season): Earned first-team AVCA all-North Central Region and first-team all-NSAA honors for the second-straight season ... Started all 24 matches as a pin hitter ... Played as a rightside hitter during the fall portion of the season, before returning to the outside in the spring ... Second on the team with 243 kills and third with 261 digs ... Recorded 32 blocks, 24 assists, and 14 service aces on the season ... Second on the squad with 12 double-doubles ... Registered a season-high 20 kills in BU's five-set win over Texas Wesleyan in the NAIA Opening Round match on April 17 ... Produced a career-high 32 digs along with 14 kills in the Bruins' five-set loss at Mayville State on March 26 ... Tallied double-figure kill totals in 15 matches and double-figure digs in 15 matches.    

2019 Season (Sophomore): Earned second-team All-American honors as well as being named first-team AVCA all-North Central Region and first-team all-NSAA ... Led the team with 490 kills and 23 double-doubles ... Second on the squad with 422 digs and third with 30 service aces ... Her 490 kills ranked 15th nationally and second in the NSAA ... Played in all 38 matches, with 37 starts ... Registered double-figure kill totals in 31 matches ... Tied a career-high with 23 kills on .333 hitting in Bellevue's four-set upset victory over No. 4-ranked Viterbo University on Oct. 4 ... Named the NSAA Attacker of the Week on Sept. 2 after recording four-straight double-doubles as BU went 4-0 in the Sarpy.com Labor Day Classic ... Collected 15 kills and 12 digs in BU's four-set win over No. 2-ranked Westmont College on Aug. 30 ... Earned NSAA Scholar-Athlete honors.   

2018 Season (Freshman): Started 33 of 35 matches in her freshman campaign ... Led the team and the conference with 412 kills ... Second on the squad with 302 digs ... Tied for third on the team with 17 service aces ... Recorded a team second-best 10 double-doubles on the season ... Notched double-figure kill totals on 24 occasions and had double figures in digs 13 times ... Registered a season-high 21 kills in BU's four-set win at Waldorf on Oct. 6 ... Produced a season-high 22 digs, along with 13 kills in BU's five-set loss to No. 6-ranked Rocky Mountain on Sept. 1 ... Earned NSAA Scholar-Athlete honors.  

High School: Earned first-team all-state honors while leading her 2017 Red Oak HS squad to an appearance in the Iowa Class 3A State Tournament under coach Angela Montgomery ... Paced the Tigers with 382 kills on .307 hitting, while adding a team-high 45 service aces and 356 digs ...Earned second-team Class 3-A all-state honors as a junior in 2016 ... Two-time all-Hawkeye Ten Conference honoree ... In her junior season, led the conference in kills with 431 and was third in digs with 402 ... Two-time team captain ... Recorded over 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs ... As a freshman, helped her team to a semifinal appearance in the 2014 Iowa State Tournament ... Captain of the USA Iowa High Performance National team in 2016, helping lead her team to a silver medal at the USA HP National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ... Played club volleyball for Attack Volleyball under coach Scott Huttmann ... Qualified for USA Junior Nationals in 2014, 2015, and 2016 ... Four-time letterwinner in basketball, earning first-team all-state honors in 2018, leading her team to the Iowa State Basketball Tournament ... Twice earned first-team all-conference and all-District honors in basketball ... Named the MVP of the 2018 IGCA/Larry Niemeyer Senior All-Star Basketball Game after scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 rebounds ... Qualified for the 2017 Iowa State Track & Field Championships in the sprint medley relay ... An excellent student, she was a four-time recipient of the Iowa Girls Athletic Union Academic Award and was on the High Honor Roll 14 quarters.

Personal: The daughter of Debbie Pappas and Jim Athen ... Has a younger brother, Jacob ... Born on Jan. 19, 2000 ... Majoring in biology. 

Recent Games
Nov 12 vs. (RV) Dakota State W, 3-1
Nov 13 vs. #2 Viterbo L, 3-2
Nov 20 Edward Waters W, 3-0
Nov 30 vs. #16 Ottawa (Ariz.) W, 3-1
Dec 1 vs. #8 Corban W, 3-1
Dec 2 vs. #1 Jamestown L, 3-0
Statistics category Overall Conf
Matches 34 14
Sets 120 47
Kills 359 136
Kills per set 2.99 2.89
Errors 154 56
Total Attacks 1016 376
Hitting Percentage .202 .213
Assists 36 10
Assists per set 0.30 0.21
Service Aces 30 17
Service Errors 52 24
Service Aces per set 0.25 0.36
Receptions 575 198
Reception Errors 26 5
Digs 318 127
Digs per set 2.65 2.70
Block Solo 2 0
Block Assist 53 22
Block Total 55 22
Blocks per set 0.46 0.47
Block Errors 9 5
Ball Handling Errors 2 1
Points 417.5 164.0
Points per set 3.5 3.5
Matches started 34 14
Date Opponent Score ms s k e ta pct a sa se r re digs bs ba be tot bhe pts
Aug 19 at Montana Tech W, 3-0 1 3 10 2 21 .381 1 3 1 15 1 9 0 1 0 1 0 13.5
Aug 20 vs. Carroll W, 3-1 1 4 16 5 33 .333 3 2 4 26 1 15 0 0 2 0 0 18.0
Aug 20 vs. #6 Eastern Oregon W, 3-0 1 3 3 5 24 -.083 2 0 1 9 0 12 0 2 0 2 0 4.0
Aug 28 vs. Baker W, 3-0 1 2 8 1 15 .467 2 0 0 9 1 1 1 1 0 2 0 9.5
Aug 28 at #6 Concordia (Neb.) W, 3-2 1 5 15 3 41 .293 4 1 1 20 0 17 0 1 0 1 0 16.5
Sep 7 #8 Northwestern W, 3-2 1 5 14 8 49 .122 2 0 4 20 0 16 0 1 0 1 0 14.5
Sep 10 vs. #10 Providence (Mont.) W, 3-0 1 3 15 8 43 .163 2 1 2 21 2 5 0 2 0 2 0 17.0
Sep 10 at (RV) Ottawa (Ariz.) L, 3-2 1 5 17 7 45 .222 0 0 1 22 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 17.0
Sep 11 at (RV) Embry-Riddle L, 3-2 1 5 13 12 47 .021 1 1 2 28 3 6 0 2 0 2 0 15.0
Sep 15 Dakota State W, 3-0 1 3 12 3 32 .281 1 0 3 10 0 16 0 1 0 1 0 12.5
Sep 18 Avila W, 3-0 1 1 2 4 8 -.250 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 3.5
Sep 23 at Presentation W, 3-0 1 3 9 1 20 .400 0 1 2 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 10.0
Sep 24 at Mayville State W, 3-0 1 3 13 7 34 .176 0 2 2 14 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 15.0
Sep 28 Peru State W, 3-0 1 3 13 3 22 .455 0 2 1 9 0 5 0 2 1 2 0 16.0
Oct 1 Dickinson State W, 3-0 1 3 9 3 20 .300 1 2 5 13 0 6 0 1 1 1 0 11.5
Oct 1 Dickinson State W, 3-0 1 3 3 2 8 .125 1 5 1 15 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 8.0
Oct 2 Valley City State W, 3-0 1 3 4 2 17 .118 1 2 3 18 0 14 0 1 0 1 0 6.5
Oct 8 #2 Viterbo L, 3-1 1 4 13 10 42 .071 0 0 2 19 0 8 0 3 2 3 0 14.5
Oct 9 Waldorf W, 3-0 1 3 13 1 27 .444 1 1 1 10 1 7 0 3 0 3 0 15.5
Oct 13 at (RV) Dakota State L, 3-2 1 5 12 14 52 -.038 0 0 1 28 1 11 0 4 0 4 1 14.0
Oct 15 at #24 Grand View L, 3-1 1 4 11 8 33 .091 1 0 3 37 1 13 0 1 0 1 0 11.5
Oct 15 vs. Oklahoma City W, 3-1 1 4 9 2 29 .241 4 0 0 18 0 10 0 2 0 2 1 10.0
Oct 22 at Valley City State W, 3-0 1 3 4 4 19 .000 1 4 2 11 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 8.0
Oct 27 (RV) Doane W, 3-0 1 3 11 3 34 .235 0 0 2 14 0 5 0 2 0 2 0 12.0
Oct 29 Mayville State W, 3-0 1 3 6 3 16 .188 1 0 2 7 0 9 0 2 1 2 0 7.0
Oct 30 Presentation W, 3-0 1 3 13 0 25 .520 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 0 1 0 13.5
Nov 5 at #2 Viterbo L, 3-2 1 5 17 4 38 .342 2 0 0 45 1 13 0 5 0 5 0 19.5
Nov 6 at Waldorf W, 3-0 1 3 8 2 26 .231 1 0 0 8 0 8 0 1 1 1 0 8.5
Nov 12 vs. (RV) Dakota State W, 3-1 1 4 13 4 31 .290 0 1 1 21 0 6 0 3 0 3 0 15.5
Nov 13 vs. #2 Viterbo L, 3-2 1 5 13 6 40 .175 0 0 1 26 1 21 0 4 1 4 0 15.0
Nov 20 Edward Waters W, 3-0 1 3 12 2 29 .345 1 1 1 13 4 8 0 2 0 2 0 14.0
Nov 30 vs. #16 Ottawa (Ariz.) W, 3-1 1 4 9 3 29 .207 0 0 2 22 2 14 0 0 0 0 0 9.0
Dec 1 vs. #8 Corban W, 3-1 1 4 10 5 33 .152 2 0 0 29 2 6 1 2 0 3 0 12.0
Dec 2 vs. #1 Jamestown L, 3-0 1 3 9 7 34 .059 0 0 1 18 0 12 0 2 0 2 0 10.0
  m s k k/s e ta pct a a/s sa sa/s r re digs d/s bs ba tot b/s pts pts/s
2018-19 35 129 412 3.19 202 1166 .180 23 0.18 17 0.13 444 25 302 2.34 6 50 56 0.43 460.0 3.6
2019-20 38 139 490 3.53 216 1382 .198 34 0.24 30 0.22 602 24 422 3.04 8 50 58 0.42 553.0 4.0
2020-21 24 89 243 2.73 131 746 .150 24 0.27 14 0.16 329 8 261 2.93 4 28 32 0.36 275.0 3.1
2021-22 34 120 359 2.99 154 1016 .202 36 0.30 30 0.25 575 26 318 2.65 2 53 55 0.46 417.5 3.5
2022-23 35 124 382 3.08 145 1041 .228 43 0.35 31 0.25 649 22 432 3.48 5 54 59 0.48 445.0 3.6
Total 166 601 1886 3.14 848 5351 .194 160 0.27 122 0.20 2599 105 1735 2.89 25 235 260 0.43 2150.5 3.6
  m s k k/s e ta pct a a/s sa sa/s r re digs d/s bs ba tot b/s pts pts/s
Total 34 120 359 2.99 154 1016 .202 36 0.30 30 0.25 575 26 318 2.65 2 53 55 0.46 417.5 3.5
Conference 14 47 136 2.89 56 376 .213 10 0.21 17 0.36 198 5 127 2.70 0 22 22 0.47 164.0 3.5
Exhibition - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Home 13 40 125 3.13 44 329 .246 10 0.25 14 0.35 148 6 106 2.65 0 20 20 0.50 149.0 3.7
Away 11 44 129 2.93 64 376 .173 11 0.25 12 0.27 228 11 110 2.50 0 15 15 0.34 148.5 3.4
Neutral 10 36 105 2.92 46 311 .190 15 0.42 4 0.11 199 9 102 2.83 2 18 20 0.56 120.0 3.3
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Wins 26 84 254 3.02 86 685 .245 32 0.38 29 0.35 352 16 227 2.70 2 32 34 0.40 301.0 3.6
Losses 8 36 105 2.92 68 331 .112 4 0.11 1 0.03 223 10 91 2.53 0 21 21 0.58 116.5 3.2
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August 5 17 52 3.06 16 134 .269 12 0.71 6 0.35 79 3 54 3.18 1 5 6 0.35 61.5 3.6
September 9 31 108 3.48 53 300 .183 7 0.23 8 0.26 124 9 76 2.45 0 9 9 0.29 120.5 3.9
October 12 41 108 2.63 52 322 .174 11 0.27 14 0.34 190 4 100 2.44 0 20 20 0.49 132.0 3.2
November 6 24 72 3.00 21 193 .264 4 0.17 2 0.08 135 8 70 2.92 0 15 15 0.63 81.5 3.4
December 2 7 19 2.71 12 67 .104 2 0.29 0 0.00 47 2 18 2.57 1 4 5 0.71 22.0 3.1