Volleyball's Murphy Named AVCA All-South Region Freshman of Year
Thursday, December 11, 2008 | Volleyball
Freshman Florida right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-South Region Freshman of the Year, the Lexington, Ky.-based association announced Thursday. Murphy and junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) each were named to the AVCA All-South Region Team.
Murphy, 6-foot-2, becomes the second player in school history to be named Region Freshman of the Year and the first since 2000, when former Gator All-American Aury Cruz earned the honor.
Murphy, the 2008 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, broke the school's career record for triple-doubles just 27 matches into her collegiate career and she now has six triple-doubles to her credit. She also has recorded a squad-best 21 double-doubles this season, including a stretch of 12 consecutive double-doubles during conference play.
On the season, Murphy averages a squad-best 3.25 kills per set on a team-high .361 hitting percentage. She leads the team in total points with 405.0 and also is second in both assists (5.51/set) and digs (1.88/set). She is sixth in the SEC in kills per set and second in hitting percentage. She has dished out 20 or more assists on 15 occasions as part of a 6-2 offense.
Murphy is making her mark in the Florida record books as one of the top freshmen in program history. She has tallied 351 total kills this season, which ranks fourth all-time in kills by a freshman, and her 3.25 kills per set are second all-time in put-downs by a Florida rookie. Her .361 hitting percentage also is second all-time by a freshman in school history and her 405.0 total points are third all-time by a UF freshman.
Murphy is a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week selection (9/29, 10/6, 12/1), who on Sept. 29, 2008 became just the second player in league history to be named both Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week simultaneously. She was named the AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week and the College Volleyball Update (CVU.com) National Player of the Week on Sept. 30, 2008.
In league matches only, Murphy led the team and ranked sixth in the league in kills per set with 3.45. She was third in hitting percentage with a .386 clip in conference play. She led the Gators in total points (293.0) and points per set (3.96). She also ranked second on the team in assists per set (5.51), service aces per set (0.24) and digs per set (1.93) during SEC action.
Cusack, Florida's all-time career digs leader with 1,618, was a 2008 All-SEC second-team selection. She has rocketed up the school's all-time career digs list this season after beginning the year in 10th place all-time with 1,122 digs. Cusack has tallied 496 digs through 30 matches so far this season, breaking a 21-year-old record of 1,444 digs, set by Lyra Vance. Cusack holds three of the top-five spots on the school's single-season digs list, including ranking second last season with 587 digs in 2007.
Cusack was a four-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week selection during the 2008 campaign, marking the first time in league history that a student-athlete has won the award four times during a single season.
Cusack leads the team and is second in the SEC in digs per set with 4.59. She has tallied double-figure digs in 26 of the team's 30 matches this season and 86 of 91 matches during her Florida career. She has eclipsed the 20-dig plateau on 10 occasions this season, including a season-high 38 digs at Georgia on Oct. 26.
Cusack leads the Gators and is fourth in the SEC in service aces with 0.40 aces per set, making her the only player in the conference to rank in the league's top-five in both digs and service aces. She is the only player in school history to eclipse both the 1,500 and 1,600-dig plateaus for her career and she ranks seventh on the SEC's all-time career digs list as just a junior.
In league matches only, Cusack averaged a squad-best 4.91 digs per set, nothing double-figure digs in 19-of-20 league contests. Cusack also led the team in service aces with 0.32 per set in conference matches. She played in each of the team's 74 sets during conference play and charted nine matches during league play with a perfect 1.000 reception percentage.
Cusack, Murphy and the Gators return to action on Friday when they face No. 2/2 Stanford in the NCAA regional semifinals. Opening serve in Moby Arena is slated for 9 p.m. EST and the match will be carried live on ROCK 104 with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore.
2008 AVCA ALL-SOUTH REGION TEAM
- Ashley Adams – Samford – RS – Sr.
- Megan Argabright – Western Kentucky – MB – Sr.
- Ashley Asberry – Middle Tennessee State – MB – Sr.
- Leslie Clark – Middle Tennessee State – S – Jr.
- Brittnee Cooper – LSU – MB – Jr.
- Elyse Cusack – Florida – L – Jr.
- Nikki Fowler – Tennessee – OH – So.
- Elena Martinez – LSU – L – Sr.
- Kelly Murphy – Florida – RS/S – Fr.
- Julia Noe – Western Kentucky – S – Sr.
- Queen Nzenwa – Kentucky – MB – Sr.
- Yarimar Rosa – Florida International – OH – Jr.
- Sarah Rumely – Kentucky – S – Jr.
- Brooks Webster – Alabama – OH – Jr.
- Region Coach of the Year: Rob Patrick, Tennessee
- Region Freshman of the Year: Kelly Murphy, Florida, RS/S
- Honorable Mention: Bridget Denson-Dorman (South Carolina), Cole Dawley (Charleston), Chloe Goodman (Tennessee), Ivana Kujundzic (South Carolina), Lara Newberry (Chattanooga), Becky Pavan (Kentucky), Lauren Rapp (Kentucky), Belita Salters (South Carolina)
END OF REPORT
