Megan and Nicole McNamara

McNamaras Named AVCA All-Americans

May 11, 2016 | Beach Volleyball

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LEXINGTON, Ky.,ย -- The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its 5th Annual AVCA Collegiate Beach All-America Teams today and UCLA's top pair of Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara made the top eight pairs in the country to be bestowed this honor. Additionally, they become the first-ever all-freshman pair in the history of the sport to earn All-American accolades.

The McNamara twins are the second and third Beach All-Americans at UCLA, joining Kelly Reeves from 2013. They are also one of four freshmen this season and one of eight freshmen in the history of the AVCA to be named a Beach All-American.

Eight different schools are represented in this year's class. This is the first year an honorable mention team has been announced.

The 2016 selections were made by the AVCA Beach Volleyball All-America Committee: chairperson Beth Van Fleet (Georgia State), Kristen Rohr (Grand Canyon), Wayne Holly (Tulane), Capri Grotowski (FAU), Jeff Hall (Hawai'i) and Stein Metzger (UCLA).

2016 AVCA COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL ALL-AMERICANS

Name Institution Year Height Hometown
Madison Witt University of Arizona Jr. 6'0 Glendale, Ariz.
McKenna Witt University of Arizona Jr. 5'11 Glendale, Ariz.
Jace Pardon*** Florida State University RS-Sr. 5'10 Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Julie Brown Florida State University Sr. 6'0 Oviedo, Fla.
Mackenzie Phelps** Grand Canyon University Sr. 5'10 Prescott, Ariz.
Shannon Dugan** Grand Canyon University Sr. 5'11 Gardnerville, Nev.
Megan McNamara UCLA Fr. 5'9 Vancouver, BC, Canada
Nicole McNamara UCLA Fr. 5'9 Vancouver, BC, Canada
Kelly Claes** University of Southern California Jr. 6'2 Fullerton, Calif.
Sara Hughes*** University of Southern California Jr. 5'10 Costa Mesa, Calif.
Katie Spieler** University of Hawai'i Sr. 5'5 Santa Barbara, Calif.
Emily Maglio University of Hawai'i RS-Fr. 6'3 Coquitlam, BC, Canada
Heidi Dyer Pepperdine University Fr. 6'2 San Clemente, Calif.
Taylor Racich Pepperdine University Sr. 6'1 Santa Barbara, Calif.
Vendy Strakova Stetson University Gr. 6'0 Brno, Czech Relublic
Sara Putt Stetson University Fr. 5'10 Jupiter, Fla.
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*PREVIOUS YEAR'S WINNERย 
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AVCA BEACH HONORABLE MENTION

Name Institution Year Height Hometown
Gabrielle Dischler Florida Atlantic University So. 5'9 Naples, Fla.
Delaney Clesen Florida Atlantic University Gr. 5'8 Evanston, Ill.
Jansen Button Georgia State University Sr. 5'7 Menifee, Calif.
Sara Olivova Georgia State University Sr. 5'11 Franklin, Mich.
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