Five Penn State women’s volleyball standouts earned AVCA All-American recognition Wednesday morning, including sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord, who was the lone Nittany Lion to land on the first team.

Hord led the Big Ten in hitting percentage during the regular season and is tied for second in the nation in that category with a .440 clip. She had 310 kills and 149 blocks in 2019.

Senior libero Kendall White nabbed a spot on the second team, finishing her collegiate career with three straight All-American honors. White, a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, leaves the program as its career digs leader with 1,994.

Sophomore setter Gabby Blossom became the 50th different Nittany Lion to earn an All-American nod after finding herself on the third team. Penn State now counts 108 total honors (including honorable mentions) in program history — good for third place all-time behind Stanford and Nebraska.

Blossom’s 1,332 assists this season were the most by a Penn State setter since Micha Hancock had 1,475 in 2014 while leading the Nittany Lions to their most recent national championship. Hancock was named AVCA National Player of the Year as a senior that season.

Fellow sophomore standouts Jonni Parker and Serena Gray took home honorable mention selections after going 1-2 in kills for the Nittany Lions this season. Parker paced Penn State with 413 kills and 42 service aces, while Gray added 317 kills, 92 blocks, and 34 aces.

It’s fairly shocking Parker didn’t earn a spot on one of the three All-American teams and only received honorable mention after the strong season she put together for the Nittany Lions. Parker was a third-team All-American as a freshman in 2018.

Hord, Blossom, Parker, and Gray all have two years of eligibility remaining and will again play huge roles for the Nittany Lions in 2020 as part of a rising junior core that hopes to bring an eighth national title to University Park.