Dec. 14, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After leading the Kentucky volleyball team to its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1992, four players were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s All-South Region teams.
Seniors Sarah Rumely and BriAnne Sauer and junior Sarah Mendoza captured AVCA All-South Region honors, while junior Lauren Rapp was an honorable mention selection. This matches the 2008 team with the highest total of players earning All-Region distinctions.
“We are very proud of these athletes for having such fantastic seasons,” Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said. “They have contributed immensely to our team’s success this season.”
Rumely has now earned the honors in consecutive seasons after earning All-Region honors as a junior as well. UK’s all-time career leader in assists and aces had one of the most memorable careers in Kentucky allure. The senior from New Palestine, Ind., dished out 1,484 assists this season in helping UK’s offense rank in the top-10 in the nation in kills per set, assists per set and hitting percentage. Her 2009 assist total also ranks eighth all-time in UK’s record books. Rumely will leave Kentucky with her name etched in the career record books in six different categories. She holds the school record in assists (5,703) and aces (165). She also ranks third in career sets played (486), eighth in block assists (308), ninth in career hitting percentage (.286) and 10th in career digs (1,008). Rumely’s career assists clip also ranks as the fifth most in Southeastern Conference history.
Sauer simply had the most impressive season of her stellar four-year career in her final campaign. The All-Region honor is the first of her career after earning All-SEC second team honors for the first time in her career a few weeks ago. The senior from Louisville, Ky., captured the single season school record with 580 digs surpassing the previous clip set at 563. Sauer also will round out her career with the second highest total in career digs with 1,634. Sauer will also finish her career with the ninth most career digs in SEC history. This season she also tallied a career-high 35-dig performance against Tennessee to become the first UK player to pick up 35 or more scoops in a match in three years. For her career, Sauer had 28 career matches with 20 or more digs – with 11 of them coming in her final season.
Mendoza had a break-out junior season leading the SEC with 4.12 kills per set. After earning All-SEC first team honors the All-Region honor is the first of her career. Mendoza charted 519 kills on the season which is the fourth highest total in a single UK season. The junior from Winter Park, Fla., struck for 20 or more kills on a career-best five occasions in her junior season. She also set a career-high mark with 26 hammers against Louisville. Earlier in the year she became just the 13th player in school history to reach over 1,000 kills in her career. Mendoza’s .238 hitting percentage and 63 blocks are also career-high totals. She averaged a team-best 4.61 points per frame.
Rapp earns AVCA All-Region honorable mention honors for the second consecutive season. The junior from Indianapolis, Ind., claimed the 10th best hitting percentage in a single season in UK history with a team-best .336 percentage. Rapp was second on the team with 2.58 kills per set and 100 blocks on the year. She continued her steady play throughout the season and enjoyed perhaps the best two matches of the year in UK’s NCAA Tournament run. In a win over Oregon she set a career-high mark with 10 blocks and then set a season-best 18-kill performance against Florida State. Rapp currently ranks seventh all-time in the UK record books in career hitting percentage (.301) and block assists (317).
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information regarding the UK volleyball team.
