The University of Minnesota Duluth received a pair of American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America selections this afternoon with senior middle blocker Sarah Kelly named to the AVCA All-America first team and junior setter Emily Torve named to the AVCA All-American second team.

UMD now has 45 total AVCA citations in the program's 48-year history with at least one representative nationally recognized in each of the last 17 seasons. 

Kelly garnered the program's 19th first-team accolade, and first to scoop up back-to-back first team honors since outside hitter Mariah Scharf (2014-15). She is one of five Bulldogs -- Scharf, Kate (Lange) Sterns (2011-13), Katie Gangelhoff (2007-08), Vicky Braegelmann (2004-07) -- to earn multiple first team certificates. Torve becomes the 25th different UMD member enshrined as an All-American and the fifth UMD All-American setter.

Kelly has been bestowed All-American recognition each of the last three seasons (a pair of first team selections and an honorable mention in 2016). The native of Chaska, Minn., led the team with 3.27 kills per set and a .387 attack percentage. She pieced together her most successful season blocking after moving to middle blocker midway through the season as she averaged 0.87 blocks per set. Kelly, a three-time Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference First Team selection, signed off on her four-year career with 1,309 kills (eighth all-time), 481 digs and 284 blocks. She owns the highest attack clip of any Bulldog in the history of the program with a career attack clip of .384.

Torve is ranked third in the country with 12.69 assists per set and has the fourth-most assists this season across the Division II landscape. Her 1,472 assists is most a UMD setter has handed out since 2014. It was another highly potent offense once again with Torve at the wheel as the Bulldogs hit .268 for the season, seventh best in the nation. The native of Loretto, Minn., rolled off four straight weeks as the NSIC Setter of the Week, a believe-to-be-league first. She is sixth all-time among Bulldog setters with 4,184 assists, which is the most by any junior at any collegiate level. She also tops the charts in the NCAA landscape in assists per set (12.23).

The Bulldogs concluded the 2018 season 28-6 after making it toi the NCAA II Central Region Tournament for the 16th time in the last 17 years. UMD attained both the NSIC regular season (24th time) and tournament (third) championships for the first time since 2014.