TUCSON, Ariz. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its list of 22 beach volleyball players that earned 2023 Junior Beach All-American honors last week and Arizona has four representatives on the list, the most of any school in the country.
Florida State was next with three honorees and all other Pac-12 schools combined for seven recipients.
Phillips is from Phoenix, Ariz., and was the 2021 Arizona 3A player of the year and won indoor and beach volleyball state championships as a junior.
Rosenthal is from Hermosa Beach, Calif., and helped Mira Costa High School win the CIF Southern Section beach volleyball championship in 2023.
McElroy hails from Cornelius, N.C., and played four years of indoor volleyball while being named to the 4A all-state team as a senior and played club beach volleyball for Sinjin Beach Club in Raleigh.
Zilliken joins the Wildcats from McKinney, Texas where she won the TAPPS Sand Volleyball state title in 2021 and 2022 and was second team all-district as a senior.
The 2023 All-Americans include players from seven states. California leads the way with eight, followed by Texas with six, and Georgia with three. Rounding out the list are two players from Arizona and one All-American each from Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio.
Leading the pack in college commitments from this year’s honorees are Arizona with four and Florida State with three.
The Junior Beach All-America Committee, who selected the teams, included Jeff Smith (chairperson, 692 Beach — West Coast), Wayne Gant (Great American Volleyball — East Coast), Steve Bishop (USA Volleyball-Florida Region — East Coast), Andrew Bennett (Tamarack Beach Volleyball Club — West Coast), Ryan Mariano (RPM Sand — West Coast), Bryan Jones (Southern Sand Select — Southeast), Marlee Rice (AAU — West Coast), Jason Kaiser (210 Beach Volleyball — Central), Ashley Ivy (Austin Juniors — Central), and Patty Dodd (MB Surf — West Coast).
#BearDown
…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Arizona Athletics…