Four TCU Volleyballers Earn All-Conference Recognition
11/18/2004 12:00:00 AM
Nov. 18, 2004
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Four Horned Frog volleyball players earned All-Conference USA postseason honors, the league office announced today. Senior Dominika Szabo became the first TCU volleyballer to be named first team all-conference, while freshman Talaya Whitfield earned second team and all-freshman nods, and junior Erin Ludeke and sophomore Anna Vaughn landed on the third team.
"This is a historical moment," Head Coach Prentice Lewis began. "In my first year at TCU, we had one all-conference honoree. Last year, we had two. This year, I am happy to say, we have four. Only Louisville - the conference champion - has as many all-conference selections as we have. This is a prime example of the success our team has had during the conference season.
"It's a bittersweet moment: we feel badly for Ellen Rehme, who has given so much to our program and was not named. But we are thrilled to get those four players the recognition they deserve."
TCU has had its best season ever, tallying a 10-3 league mark and a 21-8 overall record. Both win counts (10 and 21) represent the most the Frogs have ever managed in a single season under each category. This is the second season in a row the Frogs have been victorious in 20 or more matches. Finishing in a three-way tie for second in conference after being an eighth place pre-season pick, the Frogs played their way into a first-round bye at the league tournament. They prepare to face either DePaul or Memphis in the second round on Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT.
Szabo made the leap to the first team following two consecutive third team residencies. This year, the outside hitter averaged 4.22 kills per game (fourth in conference) with a .256 average and added 2.42 digs per game. C-USA recognized her earlier in the year as conference player of the week following a .459 weekend hitting percentage against Tulane and Southern Miss. She currently is only 81 kills away from the TCU all-time career kills record and is 19 digs away from being the third player in school history to tally 1,000 digs and a thousand-thousand kill-dig combo. She ranks ninth in the league in points with a team-leading 229.5 points and has hit double-digit kills in 25 of 26 total matches this year, with eight double-doubles (kills-digs). In 11 matches, Szabo has averaged a .300 hitting percentage or higher. She earned all-tournament honors in the season-opening Hurricane Frances Classic in Oxford, Ohio.
Whitfield has had an outstanding freshman venture. She has tallied three 30-plus dig matches this season, a feat previously never accomplished by a Horned Frog. In 25 starts at libero, she has had 24 double-digit dig matches and 14 20-plus dig matches. She has broken the previous single-match dig mark (28) three times, has led the team in digs on 25 occasions, and has been the match leader in digs on 19 occasions. She owns several defensive records for TCU, including her most recent 23 digs against Saint Louis on Nov. 13 - the most digs by a single player in a three-game match. Whitfield shattered the single-season dig record of 388 by tallying 540 and counting. She is third in conference with 5.04 digs per game, having tied or outplayed in head-to-head competition the two liberos ranked above her. The freshman also ranks fourth in the league in aces. She earned all-tournament honors in three of the Frogs' four pre-season tournaments: Hurricane Frances Classic, New England Challenge, and TCU Molten Invitational.
Ludeke became the starting setter for the Horned Frogs at the start of the conference season. Until a knee injury ended her season prematurely just before the Houston match (Nov. 6), the junior transfer averaged a league-leading 14.30 assists per game, helping the Frogs to lead the league in total assists and in total kills. She earned Conference USA Setter of the Week privileges on Oct. 4 after quarterbacking TCU to two 60-plus kill wins over Tulane and Southern Miss. Ludeke also dished out 74 assists in the five-game win over East Carolina on Oct. 9, one shy of the school single-match record. She tallied four consecutive double-double matches to kick off the conference season and already has the fourth most career assists in TCU history. Ludeke has guided the team to 13 matches with a .250 or higher attack percentage to help the Frogs rank second in the league in the same category. Individually, Ludeke also ranks fifth in C-USA for aces.
Vaughn followed up her all-freshman honors of 2003 with a third-team nod in 2004. The sophomore has a team-leading .365 hitting percentage, ranking third in the league. Third on the team in kills, she leads the team in blocks and has the seventh-most points in conference. The middle blocker has tallied 15-plus kills in eight matches and has had 22 double-digit kill matches, along with 17 matches with a .300 attack percentage or higher and 11 matches with a .400 percent or higher. She is eighth on TCU's all-time kills list and is on pace to have the second-best season attack average in TCU history. Only her freshman outing of 2003 ranks higher. She earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors on Oct. 11 for her .481 weekend attack average (46-6-77), including a career-high 25 kills over East Carolina.
2004 ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
All-Conference First Team
Aida Antanaviciute, Saint Louis
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati
Jaci Gonzalez (L), Houston
Bing Sun, Louisville
Dominika Szabo, TCU
Lena Ustymenko, Louisville
Heather Watts (S), Memphis
All-Conference Second Team
Theresa Coughlin, Marquette
Deva Fowler, Tulane
Tiara Gilkey, Memphis
Rachel Torblaa, Cincinnati
Sarah Vernon (S), Marquette
Talaya Whitfield (L), TCU
Anastasia Yartseva, Louisville
All-Conference Third Team
Janet Goreham, DePaul
Ellen Hayes (L), DePaul
Myanna Hellsten, Cincinnati
Jennifer Hoffman, Louisville
Erin Ludeke (S), TCU
Kelly McAnelly, Houston
Anna Vaughn, TCU
All-Freshman Team
Svetlana Dukule, Louisville
Kristina Fabris, USF
Sutton Lasater, Saint Louis
Elenda Pilnikova, Louisville
Kimberly Todd, Marquette
Talaya Whitfield, TCU
Player of the Year
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year
Leonid Yelin, Louisville
Defensive Player of the Year
Jaci Gonzalez, Houston
Setter of the Year
Heather Watts, Memphis
Freshman of the Year
Kristina Fabris
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