LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced their 2021 All-Region team performers, as Bekah Horstman (Sr., Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian) highlighted the Raiders, being named a First Team honoree. Alysen Dexter (Fr., Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) was awarded Freshman of the Year honors for the West Central region.
Since the West Central Region became a region in the AVCA’s in 2008, the Raiders have had at least one All-West Central Region player awarded each season under head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. In all All-Region years combined, 2021 marks 16-straight seasons a Raider has been named an All-Region performer.
Bekah Horstman – West Central All-Region
Horstman had a stellar senior season for the Raiders this season, leading the team in hitting percentage with a .339 mark.
She was also a forced to be reckoned with at the net from her middle block position, leading the team with 154.0 blocks this season with 25 of them being solo blocks. She averaged 1.34 blocks per set, which sits tied for ninth in program history.
The Pella, Iowa native set two new career-highs this season for the Raiders. She recorded 25 kills and 11 blocks against the College of St. Mary back in their regular season meeting. Three times this season she notched four digs, most recently this week against Eastern Oregon.
Alysen Dexter – West Central Honorable Mention | Freshman of the Year
Dexter, named an Honorable Mention performer in the West Central region, adds to her list of accolades this season. She was named a First Team All-Conference performer, along with earning GPAC Freshman of the Year honors for the Raiders.
The freshman led the team with 417 kills this season, playing in all 115 sets (3.63 kills/set) for a hitting percentage of .224. She was the only Raider attacker with 1,000+ attempts on the season. Not only did she lead the team offensively, she also was second on the team in digs with 278 on the year (2.42 digs/set). As the season went on, she also joined Horstman as being a threat at the net with 53 blocks on the year.
Dexter set some career-highs that are impressive in her first collegiate season. She recorded 26 kills against Concordia (Neb.), 18 digs this week against Eastern Oregon, and twice had five blocks (Midland and Viterbo).
The Urbandale, Iowa native is the first Raider to earn the Freshman of the Year in the West Central Region since Lacey (Wacker) Reitz in 2017.
The Raiders finished the season with a 20-11 record, the fifth straight season with 20+ wins and the third straight season making it to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women’s Volleyball National Championship Quarterfinal round.
