Dec. 10, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A school-record four members of the University of Kentucky volleyball team earned AVCA All-South Region team honors as announced Wednesday. Senior Queen Nzenwa and junior Sarah Rumely were named to the South Region team, while sophomore Lauren Rapp and freshman Becky Pavan were tabbed honorable mention in the region.
“This is another sign of the respect our program has earned to have two players named to the All-Region team and two more named honorable mention,” said Head Coach Craig Skinner. “It is a testament to how hard we have worked to get this program to where it is now. This is a tribute to the players and their incredible work ethic. Queen had another great year for us, and was tremendous in helping us build this program. Three of these players are returning and I know they will be motivated in the spring to get ready for the 2009 season.”
Nzenwa becomes the first player in more than 15 seasons at Kentucky to repeat on the AVCA All-South Region team after earning the honor in back-to-back seasons. Nzenwa finished her career at Kentucky as the best blocker in school history with 556 career block assists. That total is also good for fourth place on the Southeastern Conference’s all-time list. In each of her four seasons at UK, Nzenwa helped reject over 115 attacks. The senior from Baltimore, finished her career among Kentucky’s all-time leaders in kills (1,261), hitting percentage (.338) and sets played (464). In her final campaign, she averaged 2.36 kills per set and 1.14 blocks per frame as she led UK to four straight seasons of 17 or more victories.
Rumely becomes the fifth player in school history to earn All-Region honors, just a week after being tabbed the SEC’s Player of the Year. She is just the third player in school history to chart over 4,000 assists and is also among the leaders on the career service aces list with 139. Rumely was in on every point in UK’s season, as she helped guide a balanced UK attack that ranked third in league play and first overall in hitting percentage. For the season she notched 12 matches with 40 or more assists and recorded nine double-double efforts. She set a career-high with over 100 blocks while positing her third straight season of 1,000 or more assists.
Rapp was an honorable mention selection after being awarded a slot on the SEC’s second-team. She was second on the squad in both kills per set (2.86) and hitting percentage (.301), both are career-highs. She was the lone UK player to record two 20-kill matches when she had 21 and 23 in matches against Ole Miss. During the year she set career-highs in kills (23), hitting percentage in a match (.643), blocks (9), digs (16) and aces (4).
Pavan was one of only two freshmen to win AVCA South Region honors, after being a unanimous selection on the All-SEC Freshman team. In her first collegiate season, she led the Wildcats in blocking with 140 total blocks and an average of 1.20 blocks per set. She was also a force offensively, racking up 212 kills on the year. She set a career-high of 14 kills in helping UK knock off No. 12 Florida in November. She also charted double-digit blocks when she charted 10 against Tennessee, becoming the only Kentucky player to have 10 or more rejections in a match this season.
Complete coverage of the UK volleyball team can be found at the Wildcats’ official homepage, UKathletics.com.
