Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Nathan Peters
Historic season continues with trio on All-America 1st team
4/29/2024 8:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Slight, Gianni, Thorne make 1st team with Hickman on 2nd team to tie for nation-high honors
Four Grand Canyon men's volleyball players were honored on the All-America teams, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced Monday.
GCU's Nicholas Slight, Camden Gianni, and Cameron Thorne were named to the first team, putting three Lopes on the top team for the first time in program history. GCU senior outside hitter Jackson Hickman was named to the second team, landing four Lopes among the 12 spots to tie Long Beach State for the most in the country.
Slight, a junior setter, has run the offense all season, moving into second all-time in GCU career assists and sitting at the third-most assists per set in the nation with 10.5. This effort helped lead the Lopes to the nation's second-best winning percentage (.862). The Storm Lake, Iowa, native adds this to his historic season after being previously named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team as well as winning MPSF Tournament Most Valuable Player when the Lopes knocked off No. 1 UCLA to win the championship match.
Gianni, a senior outside hitter in his sixth season with GCU, earns a fifth All-America honor after taking four straight honorable mentions from 2020-2023. The first-team All-American has continued to bolster his resume this season after breaking his own GCU single-season ace record, getting named to the MPSF first team and tournament team and moving to second in GCU all-time kills. Gianni has 339 kills and 55 service aces on the year.
Thorne, a sophomore, was named to the first team after coming in at second in the nation in blocks per set, averaging 1.35. The mark helped the Hollywood, Florida, native take the school record for single-season blocks with 138 and counting and put his career total at 201, just 18 from fifth in GCU career blocks. Thorne was also named to the MPSF all-tournament team after having a season-high nine blocks against Stanford in the four-set win, following that up with eight against UCLA in the championship match.
Hickman was named to the second team after having the 23rd-best hitting percentage in the country (.329) and being named to the MPSF second team. The senior from Phoenix now holds two All-America second-team honors after winning the award last season. Hickman has 299 kills on the year, only trailing Gianni for the team lead.
The Lopes are getting ready for the second NCAA tournament match in program history. They take on Ohio State in a Tuesday quarterfinal in Long Beach, California, at 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time).
GCU's Nicholas Slight, Camden Gianni, and Cameron Thorne were named to the first team, putting three Lopes on the top team for the first time in program history. GCU senior outside hitter Jackson Hickman was named to the second team, landing four Lopes among the 12 spots to tie Long Beach State for the most in the country.
Slight, a junior setter, has run the offense all season, moving into second all-time in GCU career assists and sitting at the third-most assists per set in the nation with 10.5. This effort helped lead the Lopes to the nation's second-best winning percentage (.862). The Storm Lake, Iowa, native adds this to his historic season after being previously named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team as well as winning MPSF Tournament Most Valuable Player when the Lopes knocked off No. 1 UCLA to win the championship match.
Gianni, a senior outside hitter in his sixth season with GCU, earns a fifth All-America honor after taking four straight honorable mentions from 2020-2023. The first-team All-American has continued to bolster his resume this season after breaking his own GCU single-season ace record, getting named to the MPSF first team and tournament team and moving to second in GCU all-time kills. Gianni has 339 kills and 55 service aces on the year.
Thorne, a sophomore, was named to the first team after coming in at second in the nation in blocks per set, averaging 1.35. The mark helped the Hollywood, Florida, native take the school record for single-season blocks with 138 and counting and put his career total at 201, just 18 from fifth in GCU career blocks. Thorne was also named to the MPSF all-tournament team after having a season-high nine blocks against Stanford in the four-set win, following that up with eight against UCLA in the championship match.
Hickman was named to the second team after having the 23rd-best hitting percentage in the country (.329) and being named to the MPSF second team. The senior from Phoenix now holds two All-America second-team honors after winning the award last season. Hickman has 299 kills on the year, only trailing Gianni for the team lead.
The Lopes are getting ready for the second NCAA tournament match in program history. They take on Ohio State in a Tuesday quarterfinal in Long Beach, California, at 7:30 p.m. (Phoenix time).
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