Gators Quartet Tabbed AVCA All-Americans
Wednesday, December 17, 2014 | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- AVCA First Team All-American Alex Holston led the way for Florida volleyball's four 2014 All-America honorees, announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association Wednesday in advance of the AVCA Convention and 2014 Final Four in Oklahoma City this week.
Florida freshman middle blocker and AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year Rhamat Alhassan was named a Second Team All-America selection, while junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino picked up Third Team All-America honors. Junior middle Simone Antwi was named an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention selection following her third season as a Gator.
UF's quartet of 2014 All-Americans brings the program's total to a staggering 34 All-American players who have racked up 82 All-America honors. While Holston was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention selection as a freshman in 2013, Alhassan, the nation's leader in hitting efficiency, Dagostino and Antwi all picked up the first All-America honors of their collegiate careers.
It was a record year for Florida, which finished 28-4 overall, notched its 24th consecutive 25-win season and went an undefeated 18-0 in SEC play to claim the program's 21st SEC Championship the last 24 years. The Gators ran the table in the SEC for the 13th time in program history and led the league in all but one statistical category through conference play.
The Orange and Blue advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2011 and strung together a 23-match win streak from September 21-December 13, the longest win streak in the country in 2014 and longest for a Florida team since 2010. Five Gators were named All-SEC selections, as UF boasted the SEC Player of the Year (Holston), Freshman of the Year (Alhassan), Scholar Athlete of the Year (Holly Pole) and Coach of the Year (Wise). Alhassan, Antwi, Dagostino, Holston and Pole all picked up All-Southeast Region honors, while Wise and Alhassan were the Southeast Region Coach and Freshman of the Year.
Holston, Alhassan and Dagostino will be honored Friday at the 2014 All-America Banquet in Oklahoma City in conjunction with the 2014 AVCA Convention and Final Four.
2014 AVCA ALL-AMERICA AWARDS | COMPLETE AVCA ALL-AMERICA AWARDS RELEASE
First Team All-America
| First Name | Last Name | School | Position | Year |
| Inky | Ajanaku* | Stanford University | MB | Jr. |
| Madi | Bugg^ | Stanford University | S | Jr. |
| Jordan | Burgess | Stanford University | OH | Jr. |
| Lauren | Carlini^ | University of Wisconsin | S | So. |
| Haley | Eckerman!$* | University of Texas | OH | Sr. |
| Nia | Grant | Penn State University | MB | Sr. |
| Jennifer | Hamson$ | Brigham Young University | RS | Sr. |
| Micha | Hancock$* | Penn State University | S | Sr. |
| Briana | Holman | Louisiana State University | MB | So. |
| Alex | Holston | University of Florida | RS | So. |
| Karsta | Lowe | UCLA | OH | Sr. |
| Chiaka | Ogbogu^ | University of Texas | MB | So. |
| Taylor | Simpson | University of Colorado | OH | Sr. |
| Krista | Vansant@* | University of Washington | OH | Sr. |
Second Team All-America
| First Name | Last Name | School | Position | Year |
| Rhamat | Alhassan | University of Florida | MB | Fr. |
| Khat | Bell | University of Texas | MB | Sr. |
| Morgan | Bergren | University of Kentucky | S | Jr. |
| Jocelynn | Birks# | University of Illinois | OH | RS Jr. |
| Samantha | Bricio^ | University of Southern California | OH | Jr. |
| Ali | Frantti | Penn State University | OH | Fr. |
| Alexa | Gray# | Brigham Young University | OH | Jr. |
| Savanah | Leaf | University of Miami | OH | Sr. |
| Merete | Lutz | Stanford University | MB | RS Fr. |
| Taylor | Morey | University of Wisconsin | L | Jr. |
| Chaniel | Nelson | University of North Carolina | RS | RS Sr. |
| Courtney | Thomas | University of Wisconsin | RS | Sr. |
| Nicole | Walch | Florida State University | OH | Jr. |
| Aiyana | Whitney | Penn State University | RS | RS Jr. |
Third Team All-America
| First Name | Last Name | School | Position | Year |
| Martenne | Bettendorf | University of Oregon | RS | Jr. |
| Kelli | Browning | Creighton University | MB | Sr. |
| Mackenzie | Dagostino | University of Florida | S | Jr. |
| Deedra | Foss | Colorado State University | S | Sr. |
| Macey | Gardner | Arizona State University | OH | Jr. |
| Madi | Kingdon | University of Arizona | OH | Sr. |
| Mary-Kate | Marshall | Oregon State University | OH | Fr. |
| Molly | McCage | University of Texas | MB | Jr. |
| Kaleigh | Nelson# | University of Washington | RS | Sr. |
| Caitlin | Nolan | Iowa State University | L | Jr. |
| Krystal | Rivers | University of Alabama | RS | RS So. |
| Kadie | Rolfzen# | University of Nebraska | OH | So. |
| Lianna | Sybeldon | University of Washington | MB | Jr. |
| Paige | Tapp | University of Minnesota | MB | So. |
* indicates 2013 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
^ indicates 2013 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
# indicates 2013 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection
$ indicates 2012 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
@ indicates 2012 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
% indicates 2012 AVCA Third-Team All-America selection
! indicates 2011 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
RHAMAT ALHASSAN HIGHLIGHTS
· 2014 AVCA All-America Second Team
· 2014 AVCA Southeast Region Team & Southeast Region Freshman of the Year (fourth in program history, last éiva Recek in 2012)
· SEC Freshman of the Year, All-SEC, SEC All-Freshman
· Florida's fifth SEC Freshman of the Year (last éiva Recek in 2012)
· Led Florida in blocks in 30 of 32 matches this season
· No. 1 in the nation in hitting efficiency (.458)
· Five-time SEC Offensive/Freshman Player of the Week
· Sept. 16 AVCA Division I National Player of the Week
· Featured in Nov. 10 Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd
SIMONE ANTWI HIGHLIGHTS
· 2014 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, her first All-America honor as a Gator
· 2014 AVCA Southeast Region, her second straight year with All-Region honors
· 2014 All-SEC Team
· Ranks 25th in NCAA in hitting efficiency (.388)
· Notched a career-high 16 kills against Ole Miss as UF claimed the 2014 SEC Crown outright against the Rebels
· Also hit a career-best .875 this season in UF's sweep of Mississippi State
MACKENZIE DAGOSTINO HIGHLIGHTS
· 2014 AVCA All-America Third Team
· 2014 AVCA Southeast Region Team
· 2014 All-SEC
· Ranks No. 13 in NCAA with 11.50 assists per set
· Ranks No. 23 in NCAA with 0.41 aces per set
· Notched five double-doubles this season, including UF's upset against No. 3 Texas Nov. 29 in the regular-season finale and against Illinois in the NCAA Regional Semifinal
· Led the SEC in service aces overall (0.44/s) and in SEC play (0.46/s)) and ranked second in assists per set both overall (11.47/s) and in league play (11.63/s)
· Nov. 24 SEC Player of the Week
ALEX HOLSTON HIGHLIGHTS
· 2014 AVCA All-America First Team, second straight All-America nod after being an Honorable Mention selection as a freshman in 2013
· 2014 AVCA Southeast Region Team for second consecutive year
· SEC Player of the Year, All-SEC
· Florida's 12th SEC Player of the Year (last Chloe Mann in 2012)
· Had a career-best 29 kills as UF upset No. 3 Texas Nov. 29
· Had 12 double-digit kill performances in UF's last 13 games to finish out her sophomore campaign
· Had first career double-double at Georgia (12K, 11D)
· Three-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week
