Simpson Makes History As AVCA First Team All-American
OKLAHOMA CITY — The awards keep rolling in for University of Colorado senior Taylor Simpson as she was just named an AVCA Division I First Team All-American. She is the first Buffalo to be named to the first team, collegiate volleyball's top honor.
"Taylor is very deserving of this recognition,” head coach Liz Kritza said. “She has proven throughout her time in a Buffs jersey that she is truly one of the elite players in the country. Her humility and show of character in recognizing her team and everyone who supports her is my favorite quality in this kid."
There are three All-American teams, each made up of 14 athletes. The awards will be presented Dec. 19, in Oklahoma City at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet. This is held in conjunction with the AVCA Convention and the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
The last time a Buff was recognized as an AVCA All-American was in 2006, when Ashley Nu’u was honored on the third team. In total, CU has had nine athletes receive All-America recognition, with only Nu’u and Simpson being named AVCA All-Americans.
"We have taken great pride in restoring the Colorado program to the level of national recognition, and Taylor is a wonderful representative of the ascent to that level of excellence," Kritza said.
The standout volleyball player was recently named to the AVCA All-Pacific South Region team, as well as the All-Pac-12 First Team. Simpson was also named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team and was honored as the team’s offensive MVP for the second straight season.
The 6’3” outside hitter from Colorado Springs, Colo., had an outstanding 2014 season which included breaking several records at CU. She broke the single season kills record of 528, which had stood for 17 years, with 591 kills, a single season mark which will stand for many years. She recorded a career-best 32 kills in the five-set thriller against Colorado State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 6. The 32 kills tied for the eighth-best total in Buffs history. She also hit .426 in the match, her third best hitting efficiency of the year.
Simpson tallied 1,395 attacks this season, the fourth most in a single season in CU history. Despite playing just two seasons for the Buffs, Simpson is ranked quite high in the career record books. She is 16th all-time with 981 kills and is 16th in attacks (2,526).
An offensive powerhouse, Simpson hammered 20 or more kills in 10 matches this season, which broke CU’s record of nine matches with 20 or more kills in a season. In total, she recorded double-digit kills in 32 matches and had 22 double-doubles. Simpson tied a career-high with 22 digs in the five-set win against No. 2 Washington. She also recorded 29 kills in the contest to become just the fifth Buff to ever tally two or more career 20-20 double-doubles. Her other 20-20 double-double came against Utah on Nov. 27, 2013 with 20 kills and 22 digs.
Simpson currently ranks 11th in the NCAA with 4.65 kills per set this year, which was fourth in the Pac-12. She also ranks 15th in the NCAA in points per set (5.18), fifth in the Pac-12. Simpson was an all-around player as she was second on the team with 2.71 digs per set and averaged 0.57 blocks per set.
This season she was named to several all-tournament teams. She was a member of the Northern Illinois, Omni Classic and Creighton Classic teams and was the MVP of the Omni Invitational. A Preseason Pac-12 selection, Simpson was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week twice and was the only player this year to be named the ESPNW Volleyball Player of the Week two times.
"There is nothing easy about changing a program, especially at the top level of college play. Tay's contribution, through her astounding perseverance to be great and sheer will at times, is a really special part of this story," Kritza said.
Simpson helped the Buffaloes to one of their best seasons on record. CU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and finished the season with a 20-14 record. It was the first time in over a decade that Colorado had a 20-win season. The Buffs also tied for fourth in the Pac-12 (11-9) with UCLA and Oregon, their best finish since joining the league in 2011.