Four Volleyball Gators Named All-SEC
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 | Volleyball
Florida sophomores Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) each were named to the 2009 All-Southeastern Conference First Team Monday to highlight a quartet of Gators named to the 2009 All-SEC Teams, announced by the league offices in Birmingham, Ala.
Jaeckel and Murphy earned first team honors, while senior libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) and sophomore outside hitter Colleen Ward (Melrose, Fla.) each garnered second-team All-SEC recognition.
Jaeckel leads the Gators and ranks seventh in the SEC in kills per set with 3.25. She also ranks fifth in the league in service aces per set with 0.27. Jaeckel has recorded double-figure kills in 23 of the team's 28 matches with nine double-doubles in 2009. She also ranks third on the team with 2.29 digs per set. Jaeckel, who has charted a squad-best 371.5 total points this season, leads the conference (league matches only) with 20 total service aces.
Murphy, the 2008 SEC Freshman of the Year, leads all NCAA Division I players this season with nine triple-doubles and has 15 triple-dips in her Florida career. Murphy is third in the SEC in hitting percentage with a .346 clip and tied for ninth in the league with 6.78 assists per set. In league matches only, Murphy is the only player to rank in the conference's top 10 in hitting percentage (2nd – .370), kills per set (10th – 3.24) and assists per set (10th – 6.93) concurrently.
Cusack ranks second in the SEC in digs per set with 4.63 and is a four-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week this year. She also has served 19 aces this season and averages 1.28 assists per set in the team's secondary setter role. Cusack, who ranks second all-time in SEC history in career digs, has 2,092 career scoops and needs 35 more to become the SEC's all-time career digs leader.
Ward is second on the team and 10th in the SEC in kills per set, averaging 3.07 kills per frame. Ward also is fourth on the team in blocks per set with 0.59. She has recorded double-figure kills on 17 occasions this season with four double-doubles.
The first and second teams are nine-member squads, voted on by the league coaches, while the freshman team has seven members named to it. First team selections were led by LSU with three members, followed by Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee with two each.
The Gators (23-5) are in the midst of their 19th consecutive 20-win season and begin play in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Thursday when they host College of Charleston at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
2009 SEC VOLLEYBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year: Brittnee Cooper, LSU
Libero of the Year: Chloe Goldman, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Sarah Cline, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Fran Flory, LSU
2009 FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC
- Kristy Jaeckel, Florida
- Kelly Murphy, Florida
- Sarah Mendoza, Kentucky
- Sarah Rumely, Kentucky
- Brittnee Cooper, LSU
- Sam Dabbs, LSU
- Marina Skender, LSU
- Nikki Fowler, Tennessee
- Chloe Goldman, Tennessee
2009 SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC
- Alyssa Meuth, Alabama
- Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
- Elyse Cusack, Florida
- Colleen Ward, Florida
- Valentina Gonzalez, Georgia
- Lauren Rapp, Kentucky
- BriAnne Sauer, Kentucky
- Kayla Jeter, Tennessee
- Farren Powe, Tennessee
2009 SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
- Amanda Anderson, Arkansas
- Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
- Sarah Bullock, Auburn
- Briana Bahr, Georgia
- Stephanie Klefot, Kentucky
- Whitney Craven, Ole Miss
- Leslie Cikra, Tennessee
END OF REPORT
