VB's McCray Earns Prestigious McLendon Memorial Scholarship
Monday, December 17, 2007 | Volleyball
University of Florida senior opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview, Texas) has been selected as one of six winners of the eighth annual John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced Monday.
The lone volleyball player in the 2007 class, McCray is the first student-athlete in UF history to collect a McLendon Memorial Scholarship.
Each of the six winners will receive a $10,000 grant to be used towards postgraduate studies in athletics administration. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete is required to have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, while also demonstrating leadership qualities on an institutional or community level.
A second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American and a member of the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team in 2007, McCray garnered first-team All-SEC recognition for the second-consecutive year as a senior after ranking second on the team with a 3.24 kills per game average. She also hit .351 on the year, which was good for fifth in the SEC and marked a school record for senior opposite hitters.
She finished her career as one of 16 players in school history to record at least 1,000 kills, and her .351 career hitting percentage stands as a school record for opposite hitters. A second-team All-American in 2006, McCray teamed this season with fellow seniors Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) and Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.) to give UF three 1,000-kill players on the same roster for the first time in the program's 24-year history.
McCray's Academic All-America selection was the first for a UF player since 2003, and came on the heels of her third-straight nod to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III squad. She is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, and received the Tracy Caulkins Award, given annually to Florida's top graduating female athlete, following the 2006 season.
The Longview, Texas, native graduated from UF in May of 2007 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in sport management.
McCray was also active in the Gainesville community during her collegiate career. In addition to visiting children in the pediatrics ward at SHANDS Hospital, she worked at local elementary schools to help develop motor skills in handicapped pre-k children. McCray has also taken action in the fight against cancer, participating in the Climb for Cancer Sports Camp and the Cure for Design Fashion Show during her tenure at Florida.
She was also chosen to represent UF at the NCAA National Leadership Conference in May of 2006.
2007 John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Winners
Dorian Burton, Penn State
Alana McClanahan, Duquesne
AMBER McCRAY, FLORIDA
Tiffanne Ryan, Southeast Missouri State
Darnell Smith, Oklahoma State
Christina Wright, American
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