Haley Eckerman named 2012 Big 12 Player of the Year
Nov. 26, 2012
Texas Volleyball sophomore outside hitter Haley Eckerman has been named 2012 Big 12 Player of the Year as announced by the conference today. The conference awards are chosen by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. Eckerman finished 2012 leading the league in points (5.24) and kills (4.60) in Big 12-only contests. She also ranked second (0.45) in service aces and seventh in hitting percentage (.328). The 2011 AVCA Freshman of the Year, she becomes the third sophomore to earn the Big 12 Player of the Year distinction. Eckerman becomes the sixth player in league history to earn both the Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors in their careers. The Waterloo, Iowa-native has collected five Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season. In overall matches, she leads the Big 12 in kills (4.59), service aces (0.44) and points (5.27). Nationally, she ranks ninth in the country in points and 10th in kills. She posted double-digit kills in all but one match this season and has seven double-doubles. This is the fourth straight year that a Texas student-athlete has been named Big 12 Player of the Year: Destinee Hooker (2009), Juliann Faucette (2010) and Bailey Webster (2011). It's the sixth overall POTY nod for Texas with Mira Topic winning in 2004 and Demetria Sance in 1997. Eckerman, along with teammates Khat Bell, Sha'Dare McNeal and Bailey Webster, all received All-Big 12 First Team honors while Molly McCage earned All-Freshman Team honors. Bell, Eckerman and Webster earned their second straight conference honor while McNeal earned her first-ever Big 12 honor.
The full conference release can be found online at Big12Sports.com. |
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