Leah Edmond Named SEC Player of the Year, Three Others Honored
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Volleyball senior Leah Edmond was named the 2019 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year on Sunday afternoon. It is her second-straight season winning the SEC Player of the Year award. Junior libero Gabby Curry was named the SEC Libero of the Year of the second-straight year, staking her claim as the best defensive player in the conference.
Junior setter Madison Lilley and sophomore outside hitter Alli Stumler joined Edmond and Curry on the All-SEC team, comprising the four Wildcats to make the all-conference team. UK led the conference with four players on the All-SEC team for the 2019 season.
Edmond became the second player ever at Kentucky to win the SEC Player of the Year award in 2018, joining Sarah Rumley who won the award 10 years prior. Edmond’s achievement for UK marks the third time the Wildcats have won the SEC Player of the Year award.
Kentucky, also known as “Libero U”, has now won the SEC Libero of the Year award the last six years dating back to 2014. In that stretch, three different Wildcats have won the award, as Ashley Dusek and Jackie Napper joined Curry in that stretch. Overall, it is Kentucky’s 11th defensive player of the year award and ninth in the past 10 years.
Two-time SEC Setter of the Week and one-time SEC Overall Player of the Week, Madison Lilley, was named to the All-SEC Team for the third time in three years. Lilley was All-SEC in her freshman and sophomore seasons, while also collecting the 2017 SEC Freshman of the Year award in her first campaign as a Wildcat.
Following a career-best year, sophomore outside hitter and reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, Alli Stumler was named All-SEC for the second year running. The Floyds Knobs, Indiana native averaged 3.37 kills per set this season, including setting her career high in kills in two different matches, highlighted by a stellar 27-kill performance at No. 12 Florida two weeks ago.
The 2019 NCAA Tournament Selection Show will be on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. ET live on ESPNU as Kentucky will find out its path to Pittsburgh for the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Final Four.
2019 All-SEC Team
| Thayer Hall | Florida |
| Paige Hammons | Florida |
| Rachael Kramer | Florida |
| Meghan Donovan | Georgia |
| Kacie Evans | Georgia |
| Gabby Curry | Kentucky |
| Leah Edmond | Kentucky |
| Madison Lilley | Kentucky |
| Alli Stumler | Kentucky |
| Taylor Bannister | LSU |
| Kylie Deberg | Missouri |
| Andrea Fuentes | Missouri |
| Tyanna Omazic | Missouri |
| Mikayla Robinson | South Carolina |
| Mikayla Shields | South Carolina |
| Tessa Grubbs | Tennessee |
| Camille Conner | Texas A&M |
| Hollann Hans | Texas A&M |
SEC All-Freshman Team
| Alyiah Wells | Alabama |
| Jillian Gillen | Arkansas |
| Kacie Evans | Georgia |
| Samarah Hill | LSU |
| Karli Rose | LSU |
| Lauren Davis | Texas A&M |
| Treyaunna Rush | Texas A&M |
Player of the Year: Leah Edmond, Kentucky
Libero of the Year: Gabby Curry, Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Kacie Evans, Georgia
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Rachael Kramer, Florida
Coach of the Year: Laura “Bird” Kuhn, Texas A&M
Follow along with the Wildcats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
