KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri State's Lily Johnson earned All-America honors for the fourth consecutive season, landing a spot on the Third Team from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, and Emily Butters achieved honorable mention status to give the Bears two All-Americans for the second time in school history, the AVCA announced Wednesday.

Johnson bumps up to the Third Team after three consecutive honorable mention selections, joining Linette White's 2003 season as the highest AVCA All-America recognition for an MSU player in school history. Butters is Missouri State's eighth All-American overall and first primarily defensive player to earn the distinction. 

It was also announced Wednesday morning that Johnson was one of the top five finishers among the 10 finalists in the Senior CLASS Award voting, earning her First-Team All-America honors from that organization. The award is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I volleyball based on four areas of excellence: classroom, community, character and competition.

Also the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® of the Year, Johnson is the only MSU volleyball player to achieve All-America status both athletically and academically in the same year, doing so each of the last two seasons.

The Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year for a third straight season and four-time first-team all-MVC pick, Johnson is the first player to lead the MVC in kills in four consecutive seasons, finishing the year with averages of 4.52 kills and 3.91 digs per set with 40 aces and 51 total blocks. The outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., ranks second nationally with 574 total kills and third with 646.5 total points.

Johnson tallied 28 matches with at least 10 kills and 24 double-doubles this year, with four matches of at least 20 kills and 20 digs, an MSU single-season record. She is one of 10 players in NCAA history with at least 2,200 kills and 1,500 digs, and finished her illustrious career ranked second in NCAA history in career attacks (6,610), third in consecutive sets played (519), and 19th in kills (2,293), all MSU and MVC records.

Butters posted one of the top defensive seasons in MSU history as the MVC Libero of the Year. The Richmond, Texas, native set MSU single-season records with 5.80 digs per set and 737 total digs, third-most in league history. The junior had at least 10 digs in 33 of MSU's 34 matches with 23 outings of 20 of more. A four-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week in 2017, Butters had 44 digs on Oct. 13 at Drake, the second-highest total in Missouri State and fifth-best in Valley history.

This marks the fifth consecutive season that MSU has produced an All-American, with four players being honored a total of seven times. Previous All-Americans for the Bears include Jennifer Seveland Box (1981 AIAW Division I), Linette White (2003 AVCA Third Team), Sabrina Apker (2004 AVCA MH), Kelley Michnowicz (2010 AVCA HM), Carly Thomas (2013 AVCA HM) and Kinsey Batten (2015 AVCA HM).

Missouri State finished the 2017 season with a 28-6 record that included MVC regular season and tournament championships, as well as a 21-match win streak. The Bears spent three weeks ranked in the AVCA Top 25 and advanced to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament and 10th in the last 15 years.