Arizona setter Avery Scoggins named AVCA Pacific Region Freshman of the Year

Jaelyn Hodge and Jordan Wilson are AVCA All-Region honorable mention

Arizona setter Avery Scoggins didn’t earn Rookie of the Year honors in the Big 12. She wasn’t even a unanimous selection for the conference all-rookie team. The AVCA thinks she’s the best freshman playing volleyball in the Pacific region, though.

Scoggins came to Arizona after two strong years at Middle Creek High School in North Carolina. She emerged as a starter her junior year and led the team to the 4A state title as a senior, becoming the North Carolina State Gatorade Player of the Year. She immediately put her stamp on the Wildcats, taking over as the starting setter at the beginning of the regular season.

“She had a goal to come in and win a starting setting position, to go out there and make a change and help Arizona be great, and so thus far, she’s lived up to it,” said Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs.

It didn’t happen by accident. Scoggins was already thinking ahead about her time at Arizona while she was leading her high school team and earning a second-team AVCA All-American nod as a senior. Her persistence was something Stubbs and assistant coach Steven Duhoux weren’t accustomed to from a recruit.

“She would spend a lot of time during the recruiting process, calling, asking questions and not necessarily criticizing, but just saying, ‘hey, is this on purpose’ type thing, so we were able to get a good relationship,” Stubbs said. “And she would call Steven, she would call me, and we, between Steven and I, would probably talk to Avery about five days a week.”

It’s a family tradition for Scoggins. Her mom was a setter at Georgia in the early 1990s under the name Jodi Kruse. She still has her name all over the Bulldogs’ record books. She holds three of the top 10 records for assists per set in a season, including the top two. She’s also in the top 10 for total assists and assists per set over a career. Scoggins’ aunt, Janet Kruse Sellon, was Nebraska volleyball’s first three-time All-American and played in the national semifinals twice.

While that kind of pedigree doesn’t always mean a lot, Scoggins has done the family name proud in her first season as a Wildcat.

She became the first Arizona setter to account for more than 10 assists per set since Julia Patterson did it her junior year in 2018. She had the third most assists per set of any Division I freshman setter heading into Selection Sunday. She was also second in the Big 12 in assists per set during the regular season, nudging ahead of Big 12 Setter of the Year Argentina Ung.

Scoggins became the fifth Arizona freshman to surpass 1,000 assists her rookie season. After her first postseason match, she now has 1,056. That works out to 10.46 assists per set.

It led to numerous accolades during the season. The freshman paced the Big 12 freshman class with four Rookie of the Week honors. In addition to being named to the All-Rookie team, she also made the All-Big 12 second team.

Scoggins is the third player in program history to be a regional freshman of the year honoree. Kim Glass was the first in 2002. Sofia Maldonado Diaz followed up after the delayed 2020 season that was played in the spring of 2021.

Scoggins wasn’t the only Wildcat to be recognized by the AVCA this year. Fifth-year opposite Jaelyn Hodge and junior outside hitter Jordan Wilson were named all-region honorable mention. The trio mark the most all-region honorees for Arizona since 2001. Dana Burkholder, Lisa Rutlegde, and Jill Talbot received the honors that season.