University of Delaware Athletics
Rogers Named CAA Setter of the Year, Johnson and Gillens Receive All-Conference Selections
11/20/2024 2:00:00 PM | Volleyball
RICHMOND, Va. - University of Delaware volleyball's Lily Rogers was named CAA Setter of the Year and was a First-Team All-Conference selection to highlight the Blue Hen's end of year honors. Joining her on First-Team was Kirah Johnson, while Anna Logan Gillens was a Second-Team selection.Â
Rogers becomes the fourth player in program history to earn Setter of the Year, joining Megan Welch (2007), Jess Chason (2009, 2010), and Renee Tomko (2011). This is also Rogers' second All-Conference selection, having been named a Second-Team, and All-Rookie, selection in Spring 2021. Rogers has delivered a historic season for Delaware so far, as she currently leads the CAA in assists per set at 10.48 and has posted 10.97 assists per set in conference only games. She is also 28th in assists per set in NCAA. Rogers is currently on pace to achieve the best assists per set mark in conference only games since Spring 2021 and the highest in a full season since 2019. This year, Rogers was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week twice, becoming the only setter in the conference to earn that recognition this year and the first to do so in a single season since 2011. She was the MVP of the Blue Hen Invitational, leading Delaware to wins over Marist and Howard. Rogers has also contributed at the service line as well, ranking sixth in the CAA in overall aces per at 0.36. She recorded three of the conference's highest single-match assist totals in three-set matches, with 41 against Campbell, 40 against Howard, and 38 against Stony Brook. In addition, she also has the second best assist mark in a four-set match with 48 against William & Mary, and fourth best five-set assist mark at 57 against Hofstra. Rogers' efforts have helped Delaware to the second best hitting percentage in the CAA. She has also recorded six double-doubles this season.Â
Johnson earned her second-straight All-Conference honor, and is a first-team selection for the first time in her career. Playing in every set of every match this season, she has averaged 2.89 kills per set on a .333 hitting percentage, with those numbers rising to 3.11 kills per set and a .339 hitting percentage in conference play. She has also recorded 1.16 blocks per set and 1.20 blocks per set in conference only games. She ranks third in the CAA in hitting percentage, second in blocks per set, and fifth in points per set and fourth in the CAA in conference only games in hitting percentage, ninth in kills per set, second in blocks per set, and fifth in points per set. Johnson has a single-game high this season of 10 blocks in a match against William & Mary - the best by a CAA player - and has recorded at least three blocks in 22 matches, with eight matches featuring five or more blocks. Johnson has four games this season with at least 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage, including three straight from Nov. 3-Nov. 10. Nationally, Johnson ranks in the top 80 in the NCAA in block per set. This season, she became the first Delaware player to earn two CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors in one season since Taylor Hollingsworth in 2016, and the first to earn it in back-to-back weeks since Ariel Shonk in 2013. She recorded her 400th career block on Nov. 2, and currently ranks fourth in program history with 424 career blocks.
Gillens had a breakout season, culminating with being the only sophomore in the CAA to be named to either First or Second-Team All-Conference. Gillens lead the Blue Hens with 3.33 kills per set, which ranks fifth in the CAA. She averaged 3.51 kills per set in conference play, ranking sixth. Gillens delivered a career-high 26 kills against Hofstra - the sixth-best single-match total in the CAA this season - which helped Delaware complete a reverse sweep and a weekend sweep of The Pride to help turn its season around. She was also named to the Blue Hen Invitational All-Tournament Team, contributing to wins over Marist and Howard. Gillens recorded 17 double-digit kill matches this season, including eight matches with 15 or more kills. She is the first Delaware player in their true sophomore season or earlier to earn All-Conference honors since Rogers' Second-Team recognition in Spring 2021, and the first in a full season since Maria Bellinger in 2017. Her 3.33 kills per set are the highest by a Delaware player in their true sophomore year since Bellinger's 3.75 in 2017.
This is the first time since 2011 Delaware has had two players as CAA First-Team selections, as Alissa Alker and Renee Tomko were the last pair of teammates to do so. Delaware and Towson are the only schools with six total All-CAA selections over the last two seasons. Since head coach Kimberly Lambert took the helm in 2022, the Blue Hens have garnered eight All-Conference honors in three seasons. Delaware is 30-6 in the CAA over the last two seasons, and enter the conference tournament with a league-best 10-match win streak. Delaware has also set a program record by winning 18 consecutive sets. Having secured at least a share of the CAA Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2011, the Blue Hens aim to defend their CAA Tournament Championship as the No. 2 seed. Delaware will face the winner of No. 3 Towson and No. 6 Stony Brook on Friday, Nov. 22, at 6:00 p.m.
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