WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Penny Liu, a freshman middle attacker for the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team, has been named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first team All-American teams.

“We couldn’t be happier for Penny being named a first team All-American by both organizations,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said.  “She has tremendous talent and ability, but what sets her apart is she puts her teammates first and proved all year long she was willing to do whatever she needed for this team.”

The 6-foot, 2-inch Nanjing, China, native left an indelible imprint on the Grizzlies’ stat book this season.  She recorded 586 kills on 1,048 attempts with 111 errors for a season attacking percentage of .453 and 3.81 kills per set.  She also had 29 service aces, 138 digs, 114 total blocks (27 solo blocks), and 685.5 points earned.

“Penny worked hard to adapt to playing in the middle for us after starting the season as a right side attacker,” Wiedemann said.  “She has the ability to see the court, she doesn’t make a lot of errors, and she has power.  She also displays such a positive attitude, she doesn’t complain, and she’s a selfless teammate – that is a rare combination of qualities.  Her teammates love her on and off the court.

“She’s a great player, teammate and person, and so deserving of these honors,” Wiedemann added.  “This is a wonderful way to cap off a fantastic season for her and for our Grizzly Volleyball family.”

For a full list of this year’s NJCAA All-American honorees, visit www.njcaa.org.  For the full list of AVCA All-American honorees for two-year colleges, which includes NJCAA Divisions I, II and III schools, the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges schools and the California Community College Athletic Association schools, visit http://www.avca.org/awards/all-america/two-year-college/.

For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, visit the team’s website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/vb/.