Nov. 30, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The mantle pieces for senior libero Sarah Cline continue to accumulate as she earned Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades as the Southeastern Conference released its 2009 volleyball postseason awards today.
The Rock Hill, S.C., product ranked fourth in the SEC at 4.57 digs per set. The senior smashed South Carolina’s rally scoring era season record with 498 digs, and she also topped the Gamecocks’ all-time mark with 1,464 scoops, breaking Diane Denton’s mark that had stood for 21 years.
“Sarah embodies what it means to be a student-athlete,” Gamecock head coach Ben Somera remarked, “and our program is proud her work both in the classroom and on the court is recognized with this prestigious award.”
It is the fourth honor this year for Cline, who earned first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III and second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America awards as well as an SEC Defensive Player of the Week certificate this fall. Cline becomes the third South Carolina representative among the SEC’s individual award winners, following Kim Hudson’s 1997 Coach of the Year and Lynae Vanden Hull’s 2003 Co-Freshman of the Year wins.
LSU’s Brittnee Cooper claimed SEC Player of the Year honors, while her coach Fran Flory picked up her first Coach of the Year award for the Tigers. Chloe Goldman of Tennessee captured the Libero of the Year title, while Arkansas’ Jasmine Norton gained the SEC Freshman of the Year trophy. LSU led the way with three players on the nine-member All-SEC First Team. Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee each had four members between the first and second teams. Arkansas was the only team to garner multiple spots on the SEC All-Freshman Team.
2009 Southeastern Conference Volleyball Awards
Player of the Year: Brittnee Cooper, LSU
Libero of the Year: Chloe Goldman, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Sarah Cline, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Fran Flory, LSU
First Team All-SEC
Kristy Jaeckel, Florida
Kelly Murphy, Florida
Sarah Mendoza, Kentucky
Sarah Rumely, Kentucky
Brittnee Cooper, LSU
Samantha Dabbs, LSU
Marina Skender, LSU
Nikki Fowler, Tennessee
Chloe Goldman, Tennessee
Second Team All-SEC
Alyssa Meuth, Alabama
Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Elyse Cusack, Florida
Colleen Ward, Florida
Valentina Gonzalez, Georgia
Lauren Rapp, Kentucky
BriAnne Sauer, Kentucky
Kayla Jeter, Tennessee
Farren Powe, Tennessee
SEC All-Freshman Team
Amanda Anderson, Arkansas
Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Sarah Bullock, Auburn
Briana Bahr, Georgia
Stephanie Klefot, Kentucky
Whitney Craven, Mississippi
Leslie Cikra, Tennessee
