Florida Volleyball Holds Annual Team Banquet
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 | Volleyball
The Florida volleyball team celebrated its record-setting 2008 season at its annual team banquet on Monday evening in the Don and Irene Dizney Gator Room in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The event, hosted by the Gator Attack Club, was attended by friends, family and fans of the Florida volleyball program, which finished with a 27-4 record in 2008 and set an NCAA Division I volleyball record for most consecutive conference championships when the squad won its 18th straight Southeastern Conference title this past season. The Gators advanced to the NCAA regional semifinals for the 17th time in the last 18 years and finished with a final No. 10 ranking in both national polls. Florida also in 2008 extended the nation's longest streak of consecutive 25-win seasons.
The event, which was emceed by Tom Collett, the radio voice of the Florida volleyball team, began with a social and a photo slide show of the season, featuring the work of photographer Jim Burgess. Gator Attack Club member Carol Hayes-Christiansen also welcomed as the president of the organization for the 2009 season.
Dinner was served and then members of the Gator Attack Club board assisted with the presentation of a number of awards to Florida volleyball players.
Senior middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.), the 2008 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a second-team CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America selection, was presented with the team's academic award. Bowers, a three-time Academic All-District selection, currently holds a 3.92 grade point average in public relations with a minor in Italian.
Junior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), a two-time honorable mention American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America selection, earned four awards on the evening. She was the recipient of the Gator Power Award, presented by volleyball strength and conditioning coach Matt DeLancey, for her dedication to the strength and conditioning program.
Cusack also was the recipient of the Claire Roach Defensive Award, named in honor of one of the first true defensive specialists in Florida history who is currently the head coach at the University of South Florida. Cusack, who broke Florida's nearly 21-year-old career digs record earlier this year, currently has 1,634 career digs and is the only player in school history to have eclipsed the 1,500 and 1,600-dig marks. Cusack ranks seventh on the SEC's all-time career digs list and holds three spots among the Gators' top-four single-season digs totals. She 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 has been a SEC Defensive Player of the Week nine times in her career.
Cusack also earned the team's passing and serving awards at the event. She was second in the SEC in service aces per set with 0.41, making her the only player to rank in the league's top five in both digs and service aces. Cusack charted 14 matches with a perfect 1.000 service percentage and she was critical in stabilizing the team's passing efforts, notching 14 matches with a 1.000 reception percentage, averaging 6.39 receptions per set.
Freshman middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) was the recipient of the squad's blocking award. She finished the season ranked sixth in the Southeastern Conference in blocks per set with 1.01. Anderson became the first Florida freshman to lead her team in blocks since Benavia Jenkins did so in 2000 and made her just the seventh freshman in school history to average more than 1.0 blocks per set.
Freshman right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) earned the team's kills and hitting percentage award, after leading the team in both categories. The 2008 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and the SEC Freshman of the Year, Murphy ranked 33rd nationally in hitting percentage and second in the SEC in that category with a .358 efficiency clip. She also ranked eighth in the SEC with 3.22 kills per set and led the team in that category 17 times during the season.
Murphy and freshman setter Cindy Bathelt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) each received the team's assists award for their contributions to the team's 6-2 offensive scheme. The Gators finished the season ranking second in the Southeastern Conference in assists per set with 12.51 as a team (all matches), and both setters finished the year averaging better than 5.5 assists per set. Bathelt finished the year with a squad-best 5.61 assists per set average, while Murphy added 5.50 assists per set. Combined, the duo averaged 11.1 assists per set, which would have set the school record for assists per set by a freshman had it been accomplished by a single freshman in a 5-1 offense.
Seniors Bowers and Christina Diaz (Hollywood, Fla.) each received the Gator Spirit Award, for their leadership efforts with the youngest team in head coach Mary Wise's tenure. Wise presented the Gator Spirit Award, a plaque to each player with a photo of the duo on Senior Day holding their framed jerseys, to Bowers and Diaz telling stories about she first met each player and the dedication they showed over their four-year careers.
A highlight video of the 2008 season was shown following the presentation of the awards. Wise closed the evening by speaking about the future of Florida volleyball.
2008 FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL TEAM AWARDS
Listed in the order they were presented
Academic Award – Kelsey Bowers, Sr., MB, Gainesville, Fla.
Gator Power Award – Elyse Cusack, Jr., L, Melrose, Fla.
Serving Award – Elyse Cusack, Jr., L, Melrose, Fla.
Blocking Award – Cassandra Anderson, Fr., MB, Bakersfield, Calif.
Claire Roach Defensive Award – Elyse Cusack, Jr., L, Melrose, Fla.
Hitting Percentage Award – Kelly Murphy, Fr., RS/S, Wilmington, Ill.
Passing Award – Elyse Cusack, Jr., L, Melrose, Fla.
Assists Award – Kelly Murphy, Fr., RS/S, Wilmington, Ill & Cindy Bathelt, Fr., S, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Kills Award – Kelly Murphy, Fr., RS/S, Wilmington, Ill.
Gator Spirit Award – Kelsey Bowers, Sr., MB, Gainesville, Fla. & Christina Diaz, Sr., DS, Hollywood, Fla.
The University of Florida is home of the 2009 NCAA Volleyball Regionals. For more information on Gator Volleyball, log on to www.GatorZone.com.
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