2019 Gatorade Iowa Player of the Year Akacia Brown highlights a talented 2020 MSU volleyball signing class. (Photo Credit: Gabby Zgunda)
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Trio of 2020 Freshmen Earn High School All-America Honors
February 03, 2020 | Volleyball
By Austin Coats, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – The awards continue to roll in for Mississippi State volleyball's 2020 signing class.
Three members of head coach Julie Darty's talented class were named All-Americans by PrepVolleyball.com last week. Akacia Brown, Skylar Buckley and Shania Cromartie all earned the distinction following strong senior campaigns to cap their high school careers.
Each student-athlete led their high school to state championships in 2019 before also earning Under Armour All-America selections from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Brown, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Waterloo, Iowa, has raked in awards following her senior campaign at Cedar Falls High School in which she tallied 517 kills, 308 digs, 65 blocks and 50 service aces en route to a 44-1 record. In January, Brown was named the Gatorade Iowa Player of the Year after being named the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Player of the Year in December, 2019.
The Bulldog freshman was also named a first team All-American by MaxPreps.
Brown has already joined the Bulldogs for spring practices and is enrolled in classes for the semester along with fellow freshman Francesca McBride and transfer student-athletes Jessica Kemp and Alden Willis.
Buckley started and played six rotations for North Raleigh Christian Academy in five consecutive state championships. The 2018 and 2019 Triangle Independent School Athletic Conference Player of the Year collected 1,453 digs, 1,142 kills and 1,055 assists during her prep career and led the state in kills during both her junior and senior seasons.
Cromartie helped Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida to a No. 25 national ranking by MaxPreps while tallying 394 kills on a .352 hitting percentage. The 5-foot-9 outside hitter is a multi-sport athlete, winning the 2018 state championship in the high jump and breaking a school record on the 4x400m relay team.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.
Mississippi State Volleyball 2020 Signing Class
Akacia Brown - 6-2 - Outside Hitter - Waterloo, Iowa/Cedar Falls HS
Skylar Buckley - 5-9 - Setter - Raleigh, N.C./North Raleigh Christian Academy
Shania Cromartie - 5-9 - Outside Hitter - Tallahassee, Fla./Leon HS
Lilly Gunter - 5-8 - Libero - Oviedo Fla./Oviedo HS
Jessica Kemp - 6-3 - Middle Blocker/Right Side Hitter - Fort Mill, S.C./Nation Ford HS (NC State)
Francesca McBride - 6-3 - Opposite Hitter - Troy, Mich./Troy HS
Alden Willis - 5-4 - Junior - Defensive Specialist - Raleigh, N.C./Broughton HS (ECU)
STARKVILLE – The awards continue to roll in for Mississippi State volleyball's 2020 signing class.
Three members of head coach Julie Darty's talented class were named All-Americans by PrepVolleyball.com last week. Akacia Brown, Skylar Buckley and Shania Cromartie all earned the distinction following strong senior campaigns to cap their high school careers.
Each student-athlete led their high school to state championships in 2019 before also earning Under Armour All-America selections from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Brown, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Waterloo, Iowa, has raked in awards following her senior campaign at Cedar Falls High School in which she tallied 517 kills, 308 digs, 65 blocks and 50 service aces en route to a 44-1 record. In January, Brown was named the Gatorade Iowa Player of the Year after being named the Iowa Girls Coaches Association Player of the Year in December, 2019.
The Bulldog freshman was also named a first team All-American by MaxPreps.
Brown has already joined the Bulldogs for spring practices and is enrolled in classes for the semester along with fellow freshman Francesca McBride and transfer student-athletes Jessica Kemp and Alden Willis.
Buckley started and played six rotations for North Raleigh Christian Academy in five consecutive state championships. The 2018 and 2019 Triangle Independent School Athletic Conference Player of the Year collected 1,453 digs, 1,142 kills and 1,055 assists during her prep career and led the state in kills during both her junior and senior seasons.
Cromartie helped Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida to a No. 25 national ranking by MaxPreps while tallying 394 kills on a .352 hitting percentage. The 5-foot-9 outside hitter is a multi-sport athlete, winning the 2018 state championship in the high jump and breaking a school record on the 4x400m relay team.
For more information on the Bulldogs, follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @HailStateVB.
Mississippi State Volleyball 2020 Signing Class
Akacia Brown - 6-2 - Outside Hitter - Waterloo, Iowa/Cedar Falls HS
Skylar Buckley - 5-9 - Setter - Raleigh, N.C./North Raleigh Christian Academy
Shania Cromartie - 5-9 - Outside Hitter - Tallahassee, Fla./Leon HS
Lilly Gunter - 5-8 - Libero - Oviedo Fla./Oviedo HS
Jessica Kemp - 6-3 - Middle Blocker/Right Side Hitter - Fort Mill, S.C./Nation Ford HS (NC State)
Francesca McBride - 6-3 - Opposite Hitter - Troy, Mich./Troy HS
Alden Willis - 5-4 - Junior - Defensive Specialist - Raleigh, N.C./Broughton HS (ECU)
Players Mentioned
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