Taylor Austin of Honored as CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year

2016 Nov 28

As voted on by the league's coaches, junior libero Taylor Austin of was named Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Specialist of the Year and earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team.

With her first-team selection, Austin garnered the first All-CAA accolade of her career. Austin becomes just the second Duke in program history to ever earn the award and the first since Jena Pierson won the award in 2006.

Austin has proven to be one of the nation's top defensive specialists in the country, leading the league and ranking second in the nation with a 6.00 digs per set average, the third-best mark in program history. Her league-leading 636 total digs is the fourth-most in the nation and ranks third-highest in program history.

The Ashburn, Va. native has garnered double-digit digs in all 28 of her appearances this season and has tallied at least 20 digs in 16 matches. Austin has racked up at least 30 digs in six outings, setting a new career-high of 39 at UNCW on Nov. 5. She also set a new career-best of nine assists on two occasions this season and is a two-time Defensive Player of the Week honoree.

Recording her 1,000th career dig earlier this year, Austin has become just one of three Dukes in program history with at least 1,500 digs over their career, ranking third with 1,504. She also holds the second-best digs per set average over a career with a 4.86 mark.