Volleyball's Anderson, Murphy Earn SEC Weekly Honors
Monday, December 1, 2008 | Volleyball
Florida's freshman middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) and freshman right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) each have earned weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference, the league office in Birmingham, Ala., announced Monday. Anderson was named the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week, while Murphy was named the league's Freshman of the Week for the third time in her career.
Anderson earned the first weekly award of her career after leading the Gators defensively in a 3-2 win at South Carolina that clinched Florida's 18th consecutive SEC title and also in a 3-0 sweep of UNLV in the season finale. Anderson recorded a career-high 10 blocks against the Gamecocks, making her the first freshman in school history to eclipse the double-digit block plateau in a match since Benavia Jenkins did so in 2000.
Anderson became just the second middle blocker this season to earn Defensive Player of the Week honors. She is the second Gator to earn the award after junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) has captured the honor four times this season. Florida leads the SEC in most Defensive Player of the Week honors earned with 19 since the award was introduced during the 2003 season.
On the week, Anderson averaged a team-high 1.88 blocks per set during the two matches – marking her highest two-match blocking average of the season. She leads the Gators with 1.00 blocks per set on the season and, in league matches only, Anderson averaged 1.06 blocks per set, which ranked fifth in the league.
Anderson charted a career-high 12.0 points vs. South Carolina and followed that up with 10.5 total points vs. UNLV, marking her highest two-match point production of the season. She tallied a career-high seven kills vs. the Gamecocks and then broke that mark with eight kills on .350 hitting vs. the Rebels.
Murphy was named the league's Freshman of the Week after becoming the first player in school history to record back-to-back triple-doubles. In Wednesday's match vs. South Carolina, Murphy broke the school record for triple-doubles just 27 matches into her collegiate career, finishing with 17 kills, 25 assists and 13 digs. She followed that performance up with 13 kills, 17 assists and a career-high-tying 15 digs against UNLV on Saturday night for her sixth career triple-double.
Murphy broke the school record of four career triple-doubles set by former All-America setter Angie McGinnis (2004-07) and Murphy is the only freshman in school history to have recorded a triple-double.
On the weekend, Murphy averaged a squad-best 3.75 kills per set on .344 hitting with 5.25 assists per set. She tallied a team-high 36.0 total points on the weekend and was second on the team in digs per set (3.50/set) and blocks per set (1.25/set). Murphy played an important role as a server vs. the Rebels on Saturday, recording a perfect 1.000 service percentage in 13 attempts.
Murphy averaged 1.25 blocks per set on the week with five blocks each against South Carolina and UNLV, marking her best two-match blocking stretch of the season. She tied for the team lead in blocks against the Rebels on Saturday night. Murphy, who played in every point of every rotation in the matches, led the team in points in each of their outings this past week with 20.5 points vs. the Gamecocks and 15.5 points vs. UNLV.
On the season, Murphy ranks sixth in the SEC in kills per set with 3.29 and is second in the league in hitting percentage with a .360 clip. She is the only player in the league to rank in the top six in both of those categories simultaneously. Murphy also averages 5.58 assists per set and 1.89 digs per set.
Over the past two seasons, Florida players have won eight SEC Freshman of the Week Awards, more than any other school in the conference during that stretch. Murphy is one of three Gators to have earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors this season with Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and Colleen Ward (Naperville, Ill.), each having twice earned the distinction.
Anderson, Murphy and the Gators return to action on Friday, when they play host to Florida A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Opening serve in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST and the match will be carried live on WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore.
For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com.
SEC WEEKLY AWARDS – WEEK 14
Offensive Player of the Week – Nikki Fowler, Tennessee
Defensive Player of the Week – Cassandra Anderson, Florida
Freshman of the Week – Kelly Murphy, Florida
2008 SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOREES
- Week 1 – Elena Martinez, LSU, L
- Week 2- Amy Pauly, Alabama, L
- Week 3 – Chloe Goodman, Tennessee, L
- Week 4 – Chloe Goodman, Tennessee, L
- Week 5- Miranda Kitts, Ole Miss, MB
- Week 6 – Elena Martinez, LSU, L
- Week 7 – Amy Pauly, Alabama, L
- Week 8 – Elena Martinez, LSU, L
- Week 9 – Elyse Cusack, Florida, L
- Week 10 – Elyse Cusack, Florida, L
- Week 11 – Chloe Goodman, Tennessee, L
- Week 12 – Elyse Cusack, Florida, L
- Week 13 – Elyse Cusack, Florida, L
- Week 14 – Cassandra Anderson, Florida, MB
ALL-TIME SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS BY TEAM (BEGAN 2003)
- Florida – 19
- LSU – 15
- Tennessee – 11
- Alabama -8
- Arkansas – 7
- Ole Miss – 4
- Georgia – 4
- South Carolina – 2
- Kentucky – 2
- Auburn - 1
2008 SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONOREES
- Week 1 – Kristy Jaeckel, Florida
- Week 2 – Kristy Jaeckel, Florida
- Week 3 – Regina Thomas, Ole Miss
- Week 4 – Colleen Ward, Florida
- Week 5 – Kelly Murphy, Florida
- Week 6 – Kelly Murphy, Florida
- Week 7 – Regina Thomas, Ole Miss
- Week 8 – Kelsey Mahoney, Tennessee
- Week 9 – Kathleen Gates, Georgia
- Week 10 – Colleen Ward, Florida
- Week 11 – Michelle Williams, LSU
- Week 12 – Becky Pavan, Kentucky
- Week 13 – Becky Pavan, Kentucky
- Week 14 – Kelly Murphy, Florida
MOST SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK RECIPIENTS OVER LAST 2 YEARS
- Florida – 8
- Kentucky – 6
- Tennessee – 4
- Georgia – 3
- Ole Miss – 3
- LSU – 2
- South Carolina - 1
END OF REPORT
