Czerniak, Bragg, and Frey Receive NAIA All-American Recognition

NAIA Women's Volleyball All-Americans | TU Honors Page

KANSAS CITY – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics recently announced its yearly collection of Women's Volleyball All-American awards, in which the Taylor volleyball team boasted three players to receive All-American status in a single season for the first time since 2004.

The Trojans went 33-9 the last time such a feat was achieved, when Linsey Taatjes, Christine Amony, and Jen Hale were each dubbed NAIA All-Americans, though none of that Trojan trio earned higher than a third-team nod.

In 2022 the Trojans posted a similarly impressive record of 31-7, including a perfect 17-0 mark at home, en route to a pair of Crossroads League championships, an NAIA Opening Round win, and a trip to Sioux City, Iowa, to compete in the NAIA National Tournament pool play.

Throughout it all, seniors Ryan Czerniak and Kacy Bragg, alongside junior, Anna Frey, forcefully led the Trojan offensive attack, each earning NAIA All-American status by year's end.

Czerniak highlighted the list by earning NAIA First-Team All-American recognition, which marked just the fifth first-team award in Taylor program history and the first since Kelsey Pritchard did so in 2011. Czerniak was one of 14 players from across the country to earn first-team status, while also serving as the lone Crossroads League player to do so.

TU's fifth-year senior right-side hitter from Danville, Indiana, finished the 2022 campaign with 453 total kills struck at a clip of 3.57 kills per set, all the while maintaining a remarkable hitting percentage of .385. Czerniak's hitting percentage not only led the entire NAIA, but it also served as the third-best single-season mark in Taylor program history.

Czerniak's strong left hand energized an electric Trojan offense throughout the entire 2022 season, as evidenced by a total of 28 matches in which she reached double-digit kills. Further, Czerniak surpassed 15 kills in a dozen different matches, including a career-high 26 kills against Thomas More on August 27.

Throughout Taylor's memorable 2022 campaign, Czerniak became the 23rd player in program history to reach 1,000-career kills. Along the way, she was named the Crossroads League Attacker of the Week three times and was once honored as the NAIA National Attacker of the Week, which marked the first player to do so in the head coach Erin Luthy era.

Czerniak was also named the Crossroads League Player of the Year, the first Trojan in over a decade to receive such recognition, as well as the AVCA Midcentral Region Attacker and Player of the Year. Needless to say, Czerniak capped her collegiate career with an unforgettable season, one in which she elevated her career-kill total to 1,449 for a share of 11th-place all-time in Taylor volleyball history.

Bragg was the recipient of NAIA Third-Team All-American status, marking the seventh such award in program history and the first since Betsy Brown Martinez did so in 2010.

TU's stud setter orchestrated the Taylor offense with superb efficiency throughout 2022, totaling 1,482 total assists worked at a clip of 10.90 assists per set. Meanwhile, Bragg also tallied 2.45 digs, 0.96 kills, and 0.57 blocks per set, alongside a total of 36 service aces. In 32 of her 38 matches played, Bragg posted 30-or-more assists, including 18 performances of 40-or-more assists. Even more, she surpassed 50 assists in four matches and hit a career-best mark of 61 total assists on two separate occasions. As an impressive footnote, Bragg also recorded 13 double-doubles with digs and assists.

Bragg finished the 2022 season ranked third in the NAIA in total assists and fifth in assists per set. Along the way, she was named Crossroads League Setter of the Week an incredible nine times, which totaled 16 weekly awards for her career. Bragg became the 10th Trojan to reach 3,000-career assists, before quickly becoming just the fifth to reach 4,000-career assists. Bragg also worked her way into TU's 1,000-career dig club, as she collected her second-consecutive Crossroads League Setter-of-the-Year award while also being named the AVCA Midcentral Setter of the Year.

Bragg concluded her Taylor career with 4,222-career assists and an average of 9.24 assists per set, which respectively rank fifth and sixth all-time in Taylor volleyball history.

Lastly, Frey was the recipient of NAIA Honorable-Mention All-American status, which marked Taylor's fourth such award in the last five seasons. En route to her national award, Frey posted 344 total kills at a clip of 2.82 kills per set, alongside 350 total digs recorded to the tune of 2.87 digs per set.

Frey posted double-digit kill performances in 18 matches. In four of those, Frey surpassed 15 kills, including a season-high 17 kills alongside a season-best 22 digs against Indiana Wesleyan on September 24. By season's end, Frey collected a total of 10 double-doubles with kills and digs, as she was relentlessly active across the court throughout her first season in the purple and grey.

Prior to her national recognition, Frey was named First-Team All-Crossroads League alongside AVCA All-Midcentral Region. After such an impressive first season at Taylor, Frey will now enter the 2023 season just 55 kills and 98 digs from 1,000 for her career.

21 different players have now received NAIA All-American status in Taylor volleyball program history, combining for 33 total All-American awards. Taylor Athletics at large now owns 10 total NAIA All-American awards in the 2022-2023 athletic year.