College Insider: East’s Evans finishes All-America career at Purdue

Ashley Evans has concluded her Purdue University volleyball career as one of the top players in the nation.

The 6-foot-1 redshirt senior setter and Lakota East High School graduate earned Academic All-America first-team and All-America honorable-mention honors for the Boilermakers, who finished 23-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Evans is the fourth player in Purdue history to garner spots on both All-America units in the same season. The mechanical engineering major is the only Boilermaker to be named an Academic All-American three times and is the lone player in program history to collect 4,000 assists and 1,000 digs in her career.

This season, Evans had 1,343 assists, 264 digs, 110 kills, 50 total blocks and 30 service aces.

• Lake Erie junior setter Alexis Thomas (Fairfield) has been voted onto the Great Midwest Athletic Conference second team.

Thomas led the Storm in assists (732) and was second in digs (350) and service aces (26). She added 42 kills.

Lake Erie finished 26-9 and won the G-MAC East Division championship before losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

Football: Michigan State cornerback Josiah Scott (Fairfield) has been named a first-team Freshman All-American by ESPN.com.

Scott has made 11 starts for the Spartans, becoming only the third true freshman position player under Mark Dantonio to start in his collegiate debut.

He’s totaled a team-best nine pass breakups along with two interceptions, 30 tackles, a forced fumble and one tackle for loss. Scott was selected to the Big Ten Network All-Freshman Team and was a third-team All-Big Ten Conference selection by the media.

MSU (9-3) will meet Washington State (9-3) in the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28.

• Ohio redshirt senior cornerback Bradd Ellis (Lebanon) is part of the All-Mid-American Conference third team.

Ellis has tied the OU record with 18 pass breakups this year and ranks second in the country with 20 passes defended (interceptions and pass breakups). He has two interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns, and is fifth on the team with 56 total tackles.

The Bobcats (8-4) will meet Alabama-Birmingham (8-4) on Friday in the Bahamas Bowl.

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