COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Junior setter Olivia Galas (Bellevue, Neb.), freshman outside hitter Eve Fountain (Omaha, Neb.), junior outside hitter Sierra Athen (Red Oak, Iowa), and freshman middle blocker (Haley Fleischman) all earned NAIA and AVCA All-American honors in an announcement made today by both organizations. Galas and Fountain earned first-team honors while Athen was named to the third team. Fleischman garnered honorable mention accolades.
Galas became the first player in Bellevue University volleyball history to become a three-time first-team All-American as she was also a first-team honoree in 2019 and 2020.
Earlier this season, Galas was honored as the 2021 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) and AVCA North Central Region Setter of the Year.
A four-time first-team all-NSAA selection, Galas led the Bruins and the league with 11.15 assists per set. She finished fourth on the squad with 2.33 digs per set and third with 28 service aces. Her 11.15 assists per set ranked eighth nationally. Among setters in a 5-1 offense, Galas ranked first nationally with 1.32 kills per set while hitting at a .247 attacking clip.
Galas earned NSAA Setter of the Week honors five times this season and she was honored as the NAIA's National Setter of the Week on Sept. 28. For the fourth time in her career, she was named the NSAA Setter of the Year.
Galas was second on this year's squad with 12 double-doubles. She set a school record earlier this season with the most assists in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era with 55 at Mayville State. Galas has moved up to third on BU's all-time career charts with 5,300 career set assists.
Fountain, last year's NSAA Freshman of the Year and a two-time first-team all-NSAA honoree, led the Bruins with 3.55 kills per set and was third with a .263 attack percentage. A six rotation player, Fountain finished second on the team with 439 digs and fourth with 27 service aces. Fountain also led this year's squad with 20 double-doubles.
Her 3.55 kills per set led the conference, while her .263 attack percentage ranked fourth.
This marks Fountain's second All-American honor as she was named to the third team last season.
A three-time first-team all-NSAA selection, Athen was second on this year's team with 359 kills while leading the Bruins with 30 service aces. She was third on the team with 319 total digs and recorded nine double-doubles on the season.
Athen became the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. She currently ranks sixth in school history with 1,504 career kills and 13th with 1,301 career digs.
Athen is now a two-time All-American after earning second-team honors in 2019.
Fleischman hit .304 on the season while averaging 1.81 kills per set. She ranked fourth in the league with 1.04 blocks per set. She amassed 204 kills and 118 total blocks this season. She recorded a career-high seven blocks on two occasions, both were on the road at Dakota State and at No. 2 Viterbo.
Fleischman had 18 matches where she hit above .300 and 16 matches where she registered four or more blocks.
Bellevue ended the season with a 26-8 overall record, finishing second in both the NSAA regular season as well as the NSAA Tournament. This season also marked the 14th time BU has advanced to the NAIA National Tournament and the first time the Bruins have advanced out of pool play action into bracket play since 2000. The Bruins defeated No. 16 Ottawa (Ariz.) and No. 8 Corban before falling to top-ranked Jamestown in the NAIA Elite 8.
The Bruins ended the 2021 season with a No. 9 final national ranking.
