Florida's Kelly Murphy Selected as Finalist for Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 | Volleyball
Florida's Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) was one of ten NCAA® women's volleyball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court selected as finalists today for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in collegiate volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of finalists follows this release.
Murphy is a three-time All-American (including First Team in 2010), reigning SEC Player of the Year and was named the AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 2008. She has 26 career triple-doubles, a school record, and 68 career double-doubles. Murphy recorded her 2,000th assist this season and she entered the 1,000 kill and 1,000 point clubs in her junior campaign.
The Illinois native was the only player to rank among the SEC's top-10 individually in hitting percentage, kills per set and service aces per set in 2010. She currently ranks in the top-10 in the SEC in hitting percentage, assists and service aces and leads the Gators in assists (5.75/set) and service aces (.44/set). Florida has compiled an impressive 94-15 record to go along with two SEC titles in Murphy's time as a Gator.
Murphy becomes part of an elite group at Florida, as the Gators boast three winners and seven total finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. In 2009, baseball's Brandon McArthur, football's Tim Tebow and softball's Stacey Nelson all won the award. Former Gator All-Americans Matt LaPorta (baseball), Francesca Enea (softball) and Stephanie Brombacher (softball) have also been recognized as finalists in their senior seasons.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in August. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on either the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award website or the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through November 21. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, which will be played December 15 and 17 in San Antonio.
For more information on the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Women's Volleyball Finalists
Rachael Adams, Middle Blocker, Texas
Lane Carico, Outside Hitter, Miami (Fla.)
Kanani Danielson, Outside Hitter, Hawaii
Kaylie Gibson, Libero, North Carolina
Sarah Havel, Middle Blocker, College of Charleston
Kim Hill, Middle Blocker/Opposite Hitter, Pepperdine
Kelsey Jewasko, Libero, Texas-San Antonio
Kelly Murphy, Setter/Right Side, Florida
Tarah Murrey, Outside Hitter, California
Darlene Ramdin, Outside/Middle Hitter, St. John's (NY)
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. The award is sponsored by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, and is managed by Premier Sports Management.
With fiscal year 2010 sales of $48.8 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,750 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world. Lowe's is an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA.
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit NCAA.org and NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
