Gillen, Jackson Earn SEC Postseason Honors
The Southeastern Conference announced its postseason volleyball awards on Sunday and two Razorbacks found themselves on the list.
Junior outside hitter Jill Gillen was named All-SEC and the SEC Scholar-Athlete for the second consecutive year and freshman libero Courtney Jackson was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. It is the third consecutive season in which Arkansas has had players earn postseason honors from the conference.
Gillen finished the regular season with 4.11 kills per set, which led Arkansas and came in second in the SEC. Her 444 total kills are the most among SEC competitors and the most in a single season by a Hog since 2017.
The Stilwell, Kan. native became the 17th member of the 1,000 kill club in program history on Oct. 9 and has 1,190 so far in her career, which puts her in second among all Arkansas players in the rally to 25 scoring era (2008-present).
Gillen registered new career highs in match kills (33), aces (five), total blocks (five), solo blocks (three), block assists (five) and hitting percentage (.483) this season. She led the Hogs on the season in solo blocks with 14 and also came in second in aces with 35.
Gillen tallied eight double-doubles this season, led Arkansas in kills in 19 matches and had 10+ kills in 25 of Arkansas’ 29 regular season contests.
Jill has also been named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season. Gillen is obtaining her degree in Business Administration and Marketing at Arkansas and holds a 3.88 cumulative GPA. In her academic career thus far, Gillen has been placed on the Dean’s List each of her three years and on the Chancellor’s List twice. The Chancellor’s List recognizes students who achieve a 4.0 term GPA and Dean’s List recognizes students who receive a 3.75-3.99 term GPA.
She also received 2021 SEC Academic Honor Roll and 2020 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll honors through the conference.
Courtney Jackson made tremendous strides in her first season with the Razorbacks as the starting libero, which garnered her All-Freshman Team honors. Jackson played in 107 of 110 possible sets and started in all but one match. She led the Hogs in digs per set with 3.50 and 375 total, which came in 10th in the SEC and first among freshmen.
Her 29 digs against Mississippi State on Nov. 21 were a season match high for Arkansas, and Jackson was the match leader in digs for the Razorbacks in eight of their final nine regular season contests. She tallied the most for the team in 14 matches total on the year, and had 20+ digs in five outings.
Jackson was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 13 after she posted 46 digs over three matches against Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Portland, and also tallied three service aces.
Arkansas closed its regular season on Friday with a road sweep over South Carolina. The Hogs finished with a 19-10 overall record and 10-8 record in conference. The team will learn its postseason fate during the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show on Sunday. The show will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. Arkansas has not made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2013.
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