Shelley Earns Honorable Mention on AVCA All-America List

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Emmanuel men's volleyball sophomore Michael Shelley (San Francisco, Calif.) picked up another award for his breakout sophomore season after being recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on the All-America Honorable Mention list, as announced on Monday, April 22, by the organization. Shelley becomes just the second Saints men's volleyball student-athlete in program history to be recognized for any AVCA All-America Honor, joining Curtis Abram ('11), who made the All-American Second Team in his senior season of 2011.  

Shelley made his way to the AVCA All-America ballot after being named to the AVCA All-Region 1 Team last week. The 14 players from each of the AVCA's four regions moved on to the All-America voting, making 56 student-athletes eligible for an All-American nod.

The AVCA placed 14 players on the All-American First Team and 14 more players on the All-American Second Team with Monday's announcement. Coming up shy of being one of the 28 student-athletes named an All-American, Shelley joined a list of 10 Honorable Mentions, becoming one of 38 student-athletes recognized in some manner by the AVCA.

His nomination to the Honorable Mention list made Shelley only one of three sophomores to be named to the All-America Teams or the Honorable Mention list by the AVCA.

The second-year outside hitter made a name for himself in Division III and the GNAC this season, leading the conference with 4.90 kills per set, which also ranked third best among all Division III players. His 338 total kills were second-most in the GNAC while his efficient .322 hitting percentage was good for sixth in the conference. 

More than just an offensive threat, Shelley's 43 service aces and 0.62 service aces per set were both second-best in the GNAC. In total, Shelley accounted for 401 total points in his sophomore season, another number that led all players in the conference. 

Shelley was nothing short of phenomenal for the Saints, helping lead the team to a 17-10 (9-5 GNAC) record and the No. 4 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Postseason. The Saints and Shelley made their first GNAC semifinal game appearance since 2019 after defeating Regis in the quarterfinal round.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND LIST OF THE AVCA ALL-AMERICA TEAM