By Chris Schmidbauer, Sports Information Director
Toledo, OH -- Good things come in pairs. Owens Volleyball won their second straight National Championship this year, and now they have another NJCAA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. It was announced on Wednesday that freshman Tyriana Settles in the 2019 NJCAA Division III Player of the Year. She joins former Owens Volleyball player Michaela Eisenhauer, who won the award in 2018, as the only players in school history to win National Player of the Year honors.
The Fostoria, OH native was stellar during her first season for the Express, leading the team in kills, kills per set, digs. and points. She also was the national leader in kills with 640 kills, which ranks her second all time for kills in a single season in the 25-point era (since 2008) at the Division III level. Settles was also named the NJCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament MVP. She had a team high 41 kills during the three game championship run, and she also finished with 26 digs in the championship match.
She was also named to the NJCAA Division III All-American team as a First Team selection. She was also VolleyballMag.com's Division III National Player of the Year as well. Settles was also named to the AVCA Two-Year College All-American First Team as well. She was the only player from the Division III level that was named to the First Team.
"I'm very proud of Tyriana for receiving this award. She is a very deserving, hard-working young lady. She is a pleasure to coach, is always working to get better and is a great teammate," Owens Volleball head coach Sonny Lewis said.
Settles, who is now playing for the Owens Women's Basketball team, was one of the key cogs in the Express's dominant season. The championship was a fitting end to another dominant season for the Express on the volleyball court. Owens began the season as the preseason No. 1 ranked team heading into the 2019 campaign. The Express lost 10 of the 14 players from the year's previous national title team, losing their top three attackers, their top setter, and their starting libero from the year before. Despite the lack of experience, Owens found a way to win their first seven matches in a row to begin the season. After a loss to Glen Oaks on August 30, the Express would reel off 16 straight victories.
The Express never lost consecutive matches more than once all season, and the team hasn't lost a set since their Region XII championship match against Columbus State back on October 26. Owens also kept their regular season OCCAC winning streak alive, having now won 76 consecutive regluar season matches. The Express captured their fifth straight OCCAC title this season as well.
The Express won the Region XII tournament and the Mid-Atlantic District Tournament, beating the Cougars both times.
The Express finish the season with a record of 43-4, marking the fifth straight year where the team has won 40 or more games. They finish three wins shy of the all-time mark of 46 victories in a season set by the 2000 and 2002 team. The 43 wins also marks the second most wins in a season since 1994.
The back to back National Championships is the second time an athletic program has completed such a feat in the school's history. The Owens Men's Basketball program won back to back titles in the 1991-1992 and the 1992-1993 seasons.
Below is a list complied by the NJCAA of Settles's statistics and accomplishments for this season.
2019 Statistics
- 640 kills - 1st in NJCAA
- 4.24 kills per set - 4th in NJCAA
- 0.339 hitting percentage
- 542 digs - 9th in NJCAA
- 3.59 digs per set
- 0.32 blocks per set
- 735 points - 1st in NJCAA
- 4.90 points per set
2019 Accomplishments
- NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championship tournament MVP
- NJCAA Division III Volleyball National Champion
- NJCAA Division III Volleyball First Team All-America
- AVCA Two-Year College First Team All-America
- NJCAA Division I Volleyball Mid-Atlantic District A Champion
- NJCAA Division I Volleyball Region XII Champion
- NJCAA Division III Region XII All-Region
- Ohio Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year