Senior middle hitter Lauren Matthews has made history as the first student-athlete in WKU Volleyball history to be on an American Volleyball Coaches Association team twice in one’s career. 

AVCA announced Wednesday that Matthews received a 2021 Third Team honor. She was a Second Team selection after the 2020-21 season. 

Matthews has completed numerous program firsts in her time at WKU. She is the only Hilltopper to ever be an AVCA Region Player of the Year more than once. In 2021, she was the first player to receive the newly renamed C-USA Alyssa Cavanaugh Player of the Year award. Matthews was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 as well.

She holds the greatest hitting percentage in Division I volleyball at .480 for the 2021 season. 

The WKU Volleyball program has now seen two different players receive three All-American Team honors. Alyssa Cavanaugh was the first Hilltopper in program history to land on one of the AVCA’s three teams. Cavanaugh had been placed on the third team, and Matthews has now landed on the second and third team.

11 different Hilltoppers have received honors from the AVCA, and WKU Volleyball now has 26 honors in total from the association.

Matthews finished off the season with 440 kills and 123 blocks. She started in all 97 of WKU’s sets this season.

Volleyball beat reporter Cassady Lamb can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lambp0p.