Columbia, Mo. - - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2016 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America Teams, chosen by the NAIA Volleyball All-America Selection Committee, Monday. This committee is made up of NAIA-AVCA officers and the championship committee. Three teams are named, plus honorable mention.
 
For the second straight season, Peiyi Liu was named as a First Team All-American. Liu finished the season with an impressive 622 kills and added 388 digs which were both career highs at Columbia. She ranked third in the NAIA in both kills and hitting percentage (0.393) while also ranking 14^th in NAIA in kills per set (4.17). Her 622 kills in a season ranks her eighth all time in Columbia College volleyball history and she currently sits at 1,223 kills in her career as a Cougar which is just 426 kills behind Doris Wefwafwa for the most all-time. Her best performances of the season came in the 2016 Boneyard Brawl when they defeated eighth ranked Georgetown (Ky.) College and ninth ranked Lourdes (Ohio) University in back-to-back games. Liu had astounding numbers in the tournament but had a season high in kills with 27 against Georgetown and then followed that up with a season high 22 digs against Lourdes in their next match.

In addition to Liu, Sashiko Heredia was named as an Honorable Mention selection by the NAIA Volleyball All-America Selection Committee. This is the second straight season that Heredia was recognized as last year she was named a Second Team All-American. The senior setter out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico ranked fourth in the NAIA in total assists (1,599) and ninth in assists per game (10.880). In addition to running the offense, Heredia played fantastic defense throughout the season and finished third on the team in digs with 351 averaging 2.39 per game. Since coming to Columbia College in 2015, she has recorded 3,126 assists which ranks her fourth all time in Columbia College volleyball history. Her best game of the season came against Wayland Baptist (Texas) when she accumulated a season high 68 assists in a 3-2 victory over the Pioneers.

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