Volleyball lands three on AVCA All-America teams
Dec. 16, 2009 TAMPA, Fla. -- The second-ranked Texas Volleyball team has placed three players on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Teams for the fourth straight season. Senior setter/opposite hitter Ashley Engle and senior outside hitter Destinee Hooker represent Texas on the first team, while junior outside hitter Juliann Faucette earned third-team accolades. The honors is the fourth All-America honor of Hooker's career (2008 first team, 2007 second team, 2006 honorable mention), Engle's third (2008 first team, 2006 second team) and Faucette's second (2007 first team). Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 14 athletes. The Division I AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Dec. 18 at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet in Tampa. Engle, a Yorba Linda, Calif., native earned first-team honors for the second straight year after notching All-Central Region First Team and All-Big 12 First Team accolades. The senior paces the UT offense with 1.84 kills, 8.86 assists, 2.02 digs and 0.63 blocks per-set, while hitting .344 and setting the Horns to a .341 team mark. Hooker, a San Antonio, Texas, native grabbed first-team All-America honors for the second time in her career. The senior has already been named AVCA All-Central Region First Team, All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 Player of the Year. Hooker paced the Longhorns attack in 2009, averaging a team-best 4.95 kills and an NCAA-best 5.99 points per-set. She ranks second in the Big 12 with a .362 attack mark and leads her Texas squad with a team-best 44 service aces. Faucette earned third-team accolades and her third postseason honor after claiming AVCA All-Region First Team and All-Big 12 First Team honors. The San Diego, Calif., native ranks second on the squad with 3.23 kills per-set, while hitting .288 for the year and .340 since moving to the right side. Faucette has averaged 1.56 digs and 0.61 blocks per-set in 2009.
The Longhorns are currently 28-1 and are making their second-straight NCAA Semifinal appearance this week. Texas earned its third straight Big 12 Conference title in 2009, marking its first outright conference crown since 1997. Click here for complete All-America list |
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