Murphy Named Under Armour/Volleyball Magazine Freshman of Year
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 | Volleyball
Freshman Florida right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) picked up another prestigious national honor, as she was named the 2008 Under Armour/Volleyball Magazine National Freshman of the Year, as published in the February 2009 edition of the magazine. Murphy also was named a second-team Volleyball Magazine All-American.
Murphy, who last month was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Freshman of the Year, was the only freshman on Volleyball Magazine's 2008 first or second-team All-America list.
The honors add to a long list of awards Murphy has already received for an outstanding freshman campaign. The 2008 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, Murphy is just the second player in school history to be named the AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year. She also was an All-South Region selection and an AVCA Third-Team All-American.
Murphy 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 recorded a squad-best 21 double-doubles in 2008, including a stretch of 12 consecutive double-doubles during conference play.
On the season, Murphy averaged a squad-best 3.22 kills per set on a team-high .358 hitting percentage. She led the team in total points with 412.0 and also was second in both assists (5.50/set) and digs (1.88/set). She was eighth in the SEC in kills per set and second in hitting percentage. She dished out 20 or more assists on 15 occasions as part of a 6-2 offense, which ranked second in the league in both team hitting percentage (.253) and team assists (12.51).
Murphy made her mark in the Florida freshman record books, as she ranked in the top 10 in nine different freshmen categories, including tying the freshman school record for kills with 357. She also was second all-time in hitting percentage by a freshman (.358) and kills per set by a freshman (3.22/set).
Murphy was 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.
The University of Florida is home of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regionals. For more information on Gator Volleyball, log on to www.GatorZone.com.
