Three South Dakota volleyball players were selected to the 18th annual American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Teams.

Warner’s Ava Nilsson, Madison’s Audrey Nelson and Sioux Falls Washington’s Macie Malchow were selected to All-American squads. 

Nelson, a 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker, was a second team All-American. Nelson will play college volleyball at the University of South Dakota.

Nilsson, a 6-foot senior setter, was a third-team All-American. Nilsson will play college volleyball at Northern State University. 

Malchow, a 5-foot-10 senior setter, was a third-time All-American. Malchow will play college volleyball at Gustavus Adolphus (Minnesota). 

The All-Americans were selected from a total of 1,175 nominations to AVCA and MaxPreps, resulting in 300 All-Americans and Honorable Mention All-American selections. Fifty athletes were named to each of the AVCA All-America First, Second, and Third Teams, and 150 athletes were named Honorable Mention All-America.

Requirements for nomination were that the student-athlete be in her senior year of high school, that the athlete had played in at least 50% of her team’s sets, and that she be nominated by her AVCA member high school head coach on both the AVCA website as well as via a MaxPreps stats submission. As part of the nomination process, her individual statistics for the entire season must have been entered into and submitted via MaxPreps, a free service that aggregates and distributes data on high school sports.