12/18/02

Topic Named AVCA Third Team All-American

	Mira Topic

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Sophomore outside hitter Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) was among the 36 athletes selected to the 22nd annual American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America teams for Division I women's volleyball. The awards will be presented Dec. 20, 2002, at the AVCA All-America/Player of the Year banquet at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel.

Selected to the third-team, Topic becomes the 23rd All-American in Texas volleyball history, marking the 45th All-America honor a Longhorn has received. Erin Aldrich was the last Texas player to receive All-America honors when she was named to the AVCA Third Team as a senior in 1999. Topic becomes the second sophomore in school history to receive AVCA All-America honors. Demetria Sance was a four-time AVCA All-American from 1995-98. She also becomes the first All-American for the Longhorns for Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott’s era.

Topic followed a fabulous freshman campaign where she was named the 2001 AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Freshman of the Year to a stellar sophomore season. Topic was named the MVP of the Longhorn Classic and The Ohio State Invitational as well as to the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational All-Tournament team. Topic was chosen as Big 12 Player of the Week for Sept. 9-15 for her play at Ohio State when she tallied 49 kills in seven games, including the three game upset of then-No. 9 Ohio State. She was a First Team All-Big 12 selection for the second time.

Topic became the first Longhorn to tally over 500 kills in back-to-back seasons. She had 523 kills this season and 534 kills as a freshman in 2001. She led the team in kills per game with 4.71 and points per game with 5.37. Topic was second in digs and aces per game, averaging 2.58 and 0.35, respectively. Texas ended its season at 23-9, falling to Arizona in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

Stanford’s Logan Tom was selected AVCA All-America First-Team for the fourth consecutive season to become just the third player to accomplish the feat. Amber Holmquist of Nebraska is a three-time AVCA All-American and is a repeat first-team choice. Hawai’i placed two players, Kim Willoughby and Lily Kahumoku, on the AVCA All-America First-Team for the second time. Florida’s Aury Cruz is a repeat AVCA All-America First-Team selection. The AVCA added a 12-member third-team to its All-America program this season, increasing the athletes recognized to 36 athletes.

The selections are made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: chair Jeff Nelson, Texas Tech; Judy Green, Alabama; Jill Hirschinger, New Hampshire; Janice Kruger, Maryland; Kathy Litzau, Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Jim McLaughlin, Washington; Steve Schlick, Cal Poly; and Pete Waite, Wisconsin.

2002 AVCA Division I All-America First-Team
Player Institution Pos. Yr. Ht.
Emily Adams Univ.of Southern California MB So. 6-5
Danielle Bauer UC Santa Barbara RS/Opp Sr. 5-11
Paige Benjamin University of Washington OH Sr. 5-11
Greichaly Cepero#* University of Nebraska S Sr. 6-2
Aury Cruz ^ Universityof Florida OH Jr. 5-11
Stacey Gordon # The Ohio State University OH So. 5-11
Amber Holmquist^$ University of Nebraska MB Sr. 6-4
Lily Kahumoku * University of Hawai’i OH Jr. 6-2
Sara McGee StanfordUniversity MB Jr. 6-3
April Ross $ Univ.of Southern California OH Jr. 6-1
Logan Tom ^ *% Stanford University OH Sr. 6-1
Kim Willoughby ^ University of Hawai’i OH Jr. 6-0

2002 AVCA Division I All-America Second-Team
Player Institution Pos. Yr. Ht.
Cassie Busse University of Minnesota RS/Opp Jr. 6-2
Erin Byrd University of Wisconsin OH Sr. 6-0
Kim Glass University of Arizona OH Fr. 6-3
Brittany Hochevar Long Beach State University S Sr. 6-0
Jennifer Joines# $ University of the Pacific MB Jr. 6-3
Nicole McCray University of Florida MB Sr. 6-1
Lynnette Moster Georgia Tech OH So. 5-10
Ogonna Nnamani # Stanford University OH So. 6-1
Laura Pilakowski* University of Nebraska OH Sr. 6-1
Becky Potter Santa Clara University MB Jr. 6-0
Cara Smith Penn State University MB Jr. 6-0
Katie Wilkins # Pepperdine University OH Jr. 6-4

2002 AVCA Division I All-America Third-Team
Player Institution Pos. Yr. Ht.
Michelle Collier University of South Florida OH Sr. 5-9
Lauren Duggins University of Hawai’i MB Jr. 6-0
Paula Gentil University of Minnesota L Fr. 5-9
Laura Greene University of North Carolina OH Sr. 5-11
Benavia Jenkins # University of Florida MB Jr. 6-0
Mia Jerkov University of California OH So. 6-3
Christy Myers University of Missouri MB Sr. 6-1
Brooke Niles UC Santa Barbara S Sr. 5-9
Molly O’Brien University of Northern Iowa MB Jr. 5-10
Morgan Shields University of Wisconsin S Jr. 5-11
Elisha Thomas Long Beach State University MB Sr. 6-3
Mira Topic University of Texas OH So. 6-3

^ indicates 2002 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
* indicates 2001 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
% indicates 2000 AVCA First-Team All-America selection
# indicates 2002 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
$ indicates 2001 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection
& indicates 2000 AVCA Second-Team All-America selection