Four players representing four institutions were selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region listings today, headlined by a trio of first-team honorees in Amber Igiede, Maia Dvoracek and Onye Ofoegbu.

The Big West has seen at least one All-Region performer in both the Pacific North and the Pacific South since the AVCA split the West Region teams into two awards groups in 2013.

The Big West Player of the Year Amber Igiede was named to the All-Pacific North Region team after an impressive junior season where she started all 29 matches for the Rainbow Wahine, closing the year with 523.5 points and 406 kills. The native of Baton Rouge, La., smashed the Hawai’i record books this year hitting .433 (406-73-769), good for fifth in the nation. The middle blocker also added 138 total blocks, or 1.29 per set, as well as putting down a career-best 29 aces from the service line.

The veteran star’s season included 27 efforts of double-figure kills, including a career-high 24 in a five-setter at UC Davis on Oct. 29, three instances of an attack rate of .600 or better, and a 11-kill, 10-block double-double against UCLA on Sept. 4 when the Bruins were ranked No. 23.

Igiede bumped up to the All-Region listings after earning honorable mentions in 2019 and 2021.

Igiede is joined on the Pacific North listings by Maia Dvoracek, Cal Poly senior opposite hitter. Dvoracek is making a second All-Region appearance, also earning acclaim in the Pacific North in 2019, when she went on to take home third-team All-America honors.

Coming back from a severe knee injury that forced Dvoracek to miss the 2021 season, the senior out of Truckee finished fourth in The Big West in kills at 3.62 per set, led the league and ranked fourth in the nation in aces with 70, added 3.22 digs per set, and recorded 19 double-doubles in the comeback effort.

Dvoracek finished the year second only to Igiede with 510.0 points. Dvoracek’s prowess at serve in 2022 was good to claim the Mustangs’ single-season ace record. Dvoracek averaged .532 aces per set through four seasons at Cal Poly, good for third in the NCAA Division I active career leaders.

Representing the Big West on the All-Pacific South Region team is UC Irvine’s Onye Ofoegbu. The junior middle blocker capped the 2022 campaign with 143 total blocks to lead The Big West and recorded at least one block in every match. Ofoegbu posted five or more blocks on 15 occasions with a career-high nine block assists in a three-set win over DePaul.

Closing the year in second in The Big West with a .372 hitting percentage, Ofoegbu hit over .500 seven times, including a season-best .611 against UC Riverside (12-1-18). The product of Cerritos, Calif., posted a season-high 20 kills in the last week of the regular-season at Cal Poly.

Also earning honorable mention distinction in the Pacific South Region is The Big West Libero of the Year, Macall Peed of UC Santa Barbara. The fourth-year junior appeared in all 30 contests for Big West runner-up UC Santa Barbara and rated third in the conference at 4.28 digs per set (466 over 109 frames).

The San Diego native and second-year transfer from national power Penn State also added 28 service aces and 116 assists. Peed collected a career-high 30 digs in a five-set triumph at UC San Diego on Sept. 23, and produced 26 double-digit dig performances including the last 22 in a row. Peed eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark in her collegiate career in the season finale against Hawai’i, now standing at 1,016.

Dvoracek, Igiede and Ofoegbu now advance to the All-America ballot, where a first, second and third team will be named on Dec. 14.
 

AVCA All-Region
Player (region)	Institution	Pos.	Class	Hometown
Maia Dvoracek (Pacific North)	Cal Poly	OPP	Sr.	Truckee, Calif.
Amber Igiede (Pacific North)	Hawai’i	MB	Jr.	Baton Rouge, La.
Onye Ofoegbu (Pacific South)	UC Irvine	MB	Jr.	Cerritos, Calif.
Honorable Mention
Macall Peed (Pacific South)	UC Santa Barbara	L	Jr.	San Diego, Calif.