University of Georgia Athletics
Volleyball Holds Annual Team Banquet
January 11, 2010 | Volleyball
ATHENS, Ga. - The Georgia volleyball team gathered this past Sunday evening to celebrate its 2009 season.
The banquet, which was held at the Hilltop Grille in Athens, included a dinner and an awards presentation. The 2009 squad posted a 17-14 record, marking the third-straight season the Bulldogs have won 17 matches. In Southeastern Conference action, the Dogs went 8-12 tying for fifth in the overall league standings, which is the program's highest finish since 2004.
Head coach Joel McCartney provided the banquets opening and closing remarks while Associate Athletic Director for Sports and Operations, Craig White, also addressed the student-athletes and those in attendance.
Junior middle hitter Valentina Gonzalez, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, earned five of the team's honors including Most Valuable Player, Most Improve Player, Offensive MVP, Best Server and Best Attacker. Gonzalez was a 2009 All-SEC Second Team selection after leading the team in hitting percentage (.351), service aces (37), total blocks (130) and points (399.0) and finishing second in kills (291). Gonzalez's hitting percentage of .351 was the highest mark by a Bulldog since 2004 and tied for sixth-best in a single-season in school history, and she finished with the ninth-best block assist total for a season with 118.
The Defensive MVP award went to St. Charles, Illinois, native Carla Tietz. A sophomore libero, Tietz was also tabbed the team's Best Digger after leading the squad with 459 digs, the most by a Bulldog in a single season since Shelly Gross tallied 655 in 1986. For her career, Tietz now sits atop the Georgia career digs per set charts at 3.62.
Additionally, junior outside hitter Erika Clark was named the team's Best Passer, sophomore Kathleen Gates named the Best Setter and sophomore middle hitter Ann Dylla was tabbed the Best Blocker. Clark, a native of Frisco, Texas, recorded her second-career Double-300 season with a team-leading 346 kills and 320 digs. For her career, Clark became just the 16th player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career digs as her total now stands at 1,038. Clark received a team-leading 698 serves in 2009 and committed just 26 errors for a reception percentage of .963. Gates, a native of Wilmington, N.C., paced the Bulldog offense to the tune of 1,122, and in the process became only the seventh player in school history to pass 2,000 career assists as she now has 2,250 after two seasons. Dylla, a native of Littleton, Colorado, was the only Bulldog to earn an SEC Player of the Week honor in 2009, and she finished the year with 211 kills and 126 blocks including 119 solo stops, which ranks eighth for a single-season at UGA.
The 2009 Bulldog Award was presented to freshman defensive specialist Nicole Choi of Alpharetta. Choi started 28 matches and provided the Dogs with 202 digs and 28 service aces.
