Nov. 20, 2008
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF volleyball team was honored Wednesday night at the Conference USA Volleyball Championship Banquet with its first all-conference selection and its second all-academic selection since joining the league in 2005. Senior Stephanie Serna (San Antonio, Texas) became the first Knight to be selected to the All-C-USA Second Team, while fellow senior Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) garnered her second-consecutive selection to the C-USA All-Academic Team.
Serna's selection to the second team becomes another first for Todd Dagenais' volleyball squad this season, as no other Knights before her has made any C-USA team. The right side hitter has tallied 866 kills in her career, which includes 346 kills this season. The San Antonio, Texas, native has also accumulated 148 total blocks and a .229 career hitting percentage, while racking up 3.09 points per set in her career.
The senior leads the Knights with 216 kills and 3.22 kills per set in C-USA matches this season and is third on the team with 346 overall kills, a single-season career-high for the right-side hitter. She is hitting .277 on the season after posting a .300 attack percentage or better in 14 matches. Stephanie has paced the Knights in kills in eight matches in 2008 and has tallied 10 or more kills on 20 different occasions, including a streak of 15-straight matches with 10 or more kills from Sept. 13-Oct. 24.
Heppert earned a spot on the league's All-Academic Team for the second-straight season for her performance both on the court and in the classroom. The senior leads the Knights with a .319 hitting percentage, 27 service aces and 87 block assists, while her attack percentage also ranks sixth in the league. The senior has hit .600 or better in five matches in 2008 and .500 or better in eight. She has also recorded at least one block in her last 32 matches, dating back to the 2007 season. Heppert ranks third at UCF with 313 career block assists and 369 total blocks, while also ranking fifth all-time with 56 block solos.
Not only has Heppert excelled on the court, but she also exceeds the norm in the classroom. Recently, the middle blocker was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team for the second-consecutive season for maintaining a 4.0 grade point average as a biology major. The Lawrence, Kan., native was honored by C-USA in 2007 with a spot on the All-Academic Team as well as being a three-time honoree for both the Commissioner's Academic Medal and the Commissioner's Honor Roll. Heppert has also been nominated for the UCF Scholar-Athlete of the Year award twice and has been on the President's and Athletics Director's honor rolls all six semesters at UCF.
The Knights open the C-USA Volleyball Championship Thursday at 1 p.m. ET vs. SMU, with the winner of Thursday's match advancing to the quarterfinals Friday against top-seeded Tulane (24-5, 15-1 C-USA) at 1 p.m. ET. The C-USA Championship match is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. ET and will be aired live on CBS College Sports Network.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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