Four Gator Volleyball Players Garner All-SEC Accolades; Taylor Unroe Tabbed SEC Libero of the Year
Monday, December 2, 2013 | Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Florida freshman Alex Holston, senior Chloe Mann, sophomore éiva Recek and junior Taylor Unroe were all named to the 2013 All-SEC Volleyball Team, announced by the league office Monday. Unroe garnered 2013 SEC Libero of the Year honors, while Holston was additionally a SEC All-Freshman selection in the midst of a stellar initial campaign donning the Orange and Blue.
In the first season with just one 18-member All-SEC team – no second or third team – both Florida and Missouri, the league's first and second-place teams, placed a conference-high four players on the All-SEC squad.
Unroe became UF's first-ever Libero of the Year and UF's second defensive award winner after Elyse Cusack picked up SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2006. For the 22nd straight year, at least four Gators were named to the all-conference team, while Florida has additionally boasted at least one All-Freshman honoree eight of the last 10 seasons since the award's inception.
Mann and Recek picked up All-SEC honors for the second straight year, while Unroe and Holston picked up their first career all-conference honors. Florida's four award recipients bring the Gators' All-SEC tally to 61 players with 122 total honors all-time in program history.
UF'S ALL-SEC HONOREES | 2013 INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Alex Holston
A 2013 All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman selection her first year as a Gator… Ranks fifth overall in hitting efficiency in the SEC, second among freshman (.390), and 30th overall in the NCAA with her clip … Had nine double-digit kill performances this season and hit .500 or above in seven matches, including a season-high .727 at Alabama… Had the seventh-best attack performance this season in SEC play with her .684 attack percentage at Tennessee (min. 12 kills)...Her 2.87 kills per set in SEC play ranked sixth among all freshman in the league… Also had the fifth-most kills in a five-setter this season in league play with 21 at TAMU, second-best for a freshman… Hit .359 with 65 kills against Gator opponents ranked in the top 25 at the time of competition (2.60 k/s) and had 13 blocks (0.52 blk/s) against those opponents… Twice named the SEC Freshman of the Week.
Chloe Mann
A 2013 All-SEC selection for the second consecutive year… 2013 Senior CLASS Award Top-10 Finalist… Eclipsed the NCAA career record for hitting efficiency (.473) this season… Ranks first in the NCAA and SEC with her .503 hitting clip… Ranked seventh in the SEC in kills and eighth in points… Had the third-best attack percentage of the season in the SEC (.737) versus Alabama… Hit .500 or above in 19 matches, .600 or above in nine matches, .700 or higher in three matches and .909 in one against Iona… Had a .449 clip and team-high 94 kills against top-25 ranked opponents at the time the Gators played them (Stanford, Penn State, FSU, Kentucky and Mizzou)… Had 20 double-digit kill games this season with a career-high 22 vs. TAMU (.606 clip), for which she was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week… Had five performances with five or more blocks, including a career-high eight vs. Georgetown.
éiva Recek
A 2013 All-SEC selection… Has nine double-doubles in 2013 (eighth in the SEC)… Ranks eighth in the SEC in kills (3.34/s), fourth among all underclassmen, and 10th in points/set (3.80) in the SEC… Had season highs of 21 kills (Western Michigan) and 15 digs (at LSU)… Had 15 service aces (0.25/s) in conference play and 22 (0.23/s) on the season as a whole… Tallied double-digit kills in 19 matches in 2013 and hit above .400 in six matches… Has the third-most receptions (390, .944 pctg.) and second-most digs (242, 2.57/s) on the UF squad… Has the second-most kills for the Gators against opponents ranked in the top 25 at the time the Gators played them (3.44/s)… Had two or more service aces in six matches for UF during the regular season.
Taylor Unroe
The 2013 SEC Libero of the Year… Also a 2013 All-SEC selection… Ranks 31st in the NCAA and first in the SEC in aces/set (.40)… Boasts 40 service aces this season and ended three of UF's last seven regular-season matches with a service ace, including two five-setters against Texas A&M and Kentucky… Had a career-high six service aces at A&M, the second-most in the SEC this season, and had five against Kentucky in the regular-season finale… Has had two or more service aces in nine matches for UF… Also ranks eighth in the SEC with 3.91 digs/set… Has had 15 or more digs in 11 different matches as UF's primary passer, including a career high 21 twice… Boasts a .976 reception percentage, has a team-high 391 digs (3.91/s)… Served up nine aces against opponents ranked in the top 25 when the Gators played them… A two-time 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
2013 All-SEC Team
Krystal Rivers, Alabama
Meredith Hays, Arkansas
Camila Jersonsky, Auburn
Alex Holston, Florida
Chloe Mann, Florida
éiva Recek, Florida
Taylor Unroe, Florida
Brittany Northcutt, Georgia
Whitney Billings, Kentucky
Alexandra Morgan, Kentucky
Briana Holman, LSU
Lisa Henning, Missouri
Carly Kan, Missouri
Molly Kreklow, Missouri
Whitney Little, Missouri
Juliette Th?venin, South Carolina
Allie Sawatzky, Texas A&M
Shelby Sullivan, Texas A&M
2013 SEC All-Freshman Team
Krystal Rivers, Alabama
Alex Holston, Florida
Anni Thomasson, Kentucky
Briana Holman, LSU
Kimmy Gardiner, Mississippi State
Carly Kan, Missouri
Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M
Freshman of the Year
Carly Kan, Missouri
Libero of the Year
Taylor Unroe, Florida
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Camila Jersonsky, Auburn
Player of the Year
Molly Kreklow, Missouri
Coach of the Year
Wayne Kreklow, Missouri
