No. 2 Volleyball lands three on All-Big 12 squad, Hooker named Player of the Year
Nov. 30, 2009
IRVING, Texas -- The second-ranked Texas Volleyball team earned a total of five Big 12 Conference awards, including three All-Big 12 First Team honors, Big 12 Player of the Year honors and one all-freshman team selection, the conference announced Monday. Senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker has been unanimously selected the Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Year, becoming the first Longhorn in five years to receive the honor and third overall. Texas (24-1, 19-1 Big 12) landed Hooker, senior setter/opposite hitter Ashley Engle and junior outside/opposite hitter Juliann Faucette on the All-Big 12 First Team, while outside hitter Bailey Webster was named to the all-freshman team. Engle and Hooker were the only four-time All-Big 12 honorees on the 2009 squad and Faucette was the only three-year honoree. The All-Big 12 awards are chosen by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. Baylor's Anna Breyfogle earned defensive player of the year honors, while Nebraska's Hannah Werth won freshman of the year. Missouri's Paola Ampudia took home newcomer of the year honors. Iowa State's Ashley Mass was voted libero of the year and Cyclones' head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch took home coach of the year honors. Hooker led the Longhorns to their first outright Big 12 title since 1997. In 2009, the San Antonio, Texas, native paced the league in points (6.02), kills (5.00) and service aces (0.47) per-set in Big 12 matches. She also finished second in hitting percentage, posting a .355 mark against league opponents. The three-time All-American received Big 12 Player of the Week recognition five times this year to bring her career total to 12.
Engle, a two-time AVCA All-American, has split time between setter and opposite hitter in 2009. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native has led Texas to a .335 hitting percentage, the second-best mark in the NCAA. She ranks second in the Big 12 in conference play with a .333 attack mark and has averaged 1.71 kills, 9.25 assists, 1.82 digs and 0.64 blocks per-set in 2009. Faucette, the 2007 AVCA National Freshman of the Year, ranks second on the Texas squad with 3.25 kills per-set and has added 1.71 digs and 60 total blocks in her junior season. The San Diego, Calif., native has produced three kill/dig double-doubles on the year. On the season, she ranks ninth in the league in kills per-set and ranks seventh in points per-set (3.75). Webster, the Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year, saw limited action in her inaugural campaign, but still managed to earn a spot on the all-freshman squad. The Baltimore, Md., native hit .287 in Big 12 play, while connecting for 1.00 kill and 0.65 blocks per-set in league action. Head coach Jerritt Elliott and his second-ranked Texas volleyball team return to action on Thursday, Dec. 3 when they host first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Tournament at Gregory Gymnasium. UT will face Texas State in the first round on Thursday at 6 p.m. immediately following the TCU/Rice first-round match at 4:30 p.m. Winners of the first-round matches will meet on Friday, Dec. 4, at 6:30 p.m. for the right to advance to the NCAA Omaha Regional next weekend. |
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