Aly Grodell Named AVCA All-American, All-State, & WSC Player of the Year, Eight Cougs Earn Postseason Accolades

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director   

College of the Canyons sophomore Aly Grodell has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American and All-State Teams, in addition to being named the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division Player of the Year to highlight the Cougars' haul of postseason accolades. 

COC sophomore Sabrina Sveiven was named the WSC, South Libero of the Year, becoming the first in program history to do so. Canyons co-head coaches Lisa Hooper and Clay Timmons will share conference Coach of the Year honors. In total, the Cougars had eight players earn All-WSC awards including Grodell and Sveiven. 

Grodell is the eighth conference player of the year in program history, and sixth since the 2013 season following Serena LeDuff (2013 & 2014), Emily Bible (2015), Emily Burns (2017) and Grace Ferguson (2019). 

Her AVCA All-American Third-Team designation makes Grodell the fourth in program history to earn that distinction joining Bible (2015) and two-time winner Ferguson (2018 & 2019).

Grodell is also one of just six players from the region to earn All-State honors.

A full listing of 2022 All-American and All-State honorees is here.

Grodell, who attended Valencia High School, finished the regular season with 211 kills across 77 sets, good for a rate of 2.74 kills per set. She also hit a team-high .402 for the season and was third on the squad with 27 aces. Grodell's 59 total blocks led the way for Canyons. She reached double-digit kill totals on nine occasions including a season-high 19 vs. Cypress College on Sept. 10.

Sveiven ended the regular season with 134 digs at a rate of 2.31 per set across 21 matches. The Hart High School product also tallied 17 aces on the season with 23 assists.

The Coach of the Year honor is the sixth of Hooper's career (1999, 2000, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022) and the first for Timmons. The award comes on the heels of the head coaching duo leading the Cougars to the seventh conference title in program history while going undefeated in conference play for the first time since 2015. The Cougars finished the regular season ranked No. 14 in the state according to the final regular season California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association (CCCWVCA) statewide rankings.  

Earning All-WSC First-Team honors were sophomore setter Jordan Nunez and freshman outside hitter/opposite Kaelyn White.

Nunez recorded 571 assists across 86 sets, a rate of 6.64 per set. Her 33 aces were second on the team while her 133 digs ranked third. She also collected 76 kills and 13 total blocks. White led the team with 214 kills producing at a rate of better than three per set. Her 36 total blocks were third on the team. White also finished with 49 digs and 14 aces. 

COC sophomore outside hitter Brianna Botello and defensive specialist/libero Abby Sherman were both named to the All-WSC Second-Team.

Botello turned in a second strong season for the Cougars with 185 kills, 74 digs, 17 total blocks and six aces while playing in 25 matches. Sherman saw time at two positions translating to a team-high 179 digs and 37 aces.

Canyons sophomore middle blocker Sahliyah Ravare and sophomore outside hitter/opposite Ariana Vargas both earned Honorable Mention designations.

Ravare totaled 77 kills across 62 sets of action with 46 total blocks on the year. Vargas was fourth on the team with 125 kills, 83 digs, 16 aces and 13 total blocks.

No. 10 Canyons (18-8, 12-0) travels to face No. 7 Santa Ana College (18-5, 11-5) at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 for a second-round playoff match. 

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

—Photo by Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information