Florida Volleyball's Jaeckel and Murphy Named Preseason All-SEC
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 | Volleyball
Florida seniors Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) each were named to the 10-person Preseason All-Southeastern Conference Team, announced Tuesday by the league office in Birmingham, Ala.
Jaeckel and Murphy are the first volleyball players in SEC history to be named to the Preseason All-SEC Team (2009, 2010 and 2011), First or Second Team All-SEC (2009, 2010) and SEC All-Freshman Team (2008).
The preseason All-SEC team consists of a minimum of nine players, which are voted on by the league coaches. Ties are not broken. Florida, Kentucky and LSU led all schools with two selections each. In addition, Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Tennessee each had a student-athlete named to the team. Nine of the players listed were named All-SEC First or Second Team in 2010. In addition, the league's last three Freshmen of the Year, Murphy, Arkansas' Jasmine Norton and LSU's Desiree Elliott, are represented on the team.
Jaeckel, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, was a 2010 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and ranked third on the team in kills per set with 2.51. She was also third on the team and eighth in the SEC with 0.28 service aces per set. The Littleton, Colo. native recorded double-digit kills in 12 matches and double-figure digs on seven different occasions. Jaeckel became the 20th person in school history to reach 2,000 career attacks and currently ranks 14th all-time in school history with 2,447 career attacks.
Murphy, a 6-foot-2 setter/right-side hitter, was a 2010 AVCA First Team All-American and the 2010 SEC Player of the Year. She was the only player in the SEC to rank in the league's top-10 in kills per set, service aces per set and hitting percentage simultaneously. The Wilmington, Ill. Native was the SEC's service ace leader, averaging 0.40 service aces per set, becoming the first Gator to lead the league in aces per set since Aury Cruz (2003). Murphy has 22 triple-doubles for her career and 60 double-doubles. Murphy is the only setter to be named to the Preseason All-SEC Team the last two years.
Florida begins the 2011 campaign Aug. 26-27, when they host the Active Ankle Challenge, which pits the Gators and the Auburn Tigers of the SEC against the Eagles of Boston College and the North Carolina Tar Heels of the ACC.
The University of Florida is home to the 2011 NCAA Volleyball Regional. To order 2011 regular season and NCAA Regional tickets, log on to http://www.GatorZone.com/tickets.
For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/Volleyball or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Florida volleyball on Twitter at @GatorZoneVB or www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at @GatorMary or www.twitter.com/GatorMary. You can also find the Gators on Facebook.
| Preseason All-SEC Team | School | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Kayla Fitterer | Alabama | OH | 6-0 | Jr. | Edwardsville, Ill. |
| Jasmine Norton | Arkansas | OH | 5-10 | Jr. | Rowlett, Texas |
| Kristy Jaeckel | Florida | OH | 6-2 | Sr. | Littleton, Colo. |
| Kelly Murphy | Florida | S/RS | 6-2 | Sr. | Wilmington, Ill. |
| Becky Pavan | Kentucky | MB | 6-4 | Sr. | Kitchener, Ontario |
| Stephanie Klefot | Kentucky | DS/L | 5-6 | Jr. | Louisville, Ky. |
| Desiree Elliott | LSU | MB | 6-0 | So. | Cypress, Texas |
| Michele Williams | LSU | MB | 6-2 | Sr. | Magnolia, Texas |
| Regina Thomas | Ole Miss | MB | 6-0 | RSr. | Richardson, Texas |
| Kayla Jeter | Tennessee | OH | 5-11 | Sr. | Solon, Ohio |
