Nov. 25, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF senior Jenny Heppert (Lawrence, Kan.) was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Tuesday with a spot on the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball Second Team. Heppert became the first UCF volleyball player to garner Academic All-America® honors and was the only Conference USA representative on any squad. The senior holds a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average and is expected to graduate in the spring with a degree in biology.
"I am totally shocked," Heppert said. "It is an honor. I never really imagined that I could achieve this in my career. It is just a testament to all of the great people that we have surrounding this program. Just the fact that athletes at this University can reach that level is a testament to what Academic Services does and how hard they work. It all comes from the top, beginning with Keith Tribble and what he does for the student-athletes. I am appreciative to all of those people and the tons and tons more that I couldn't even begin to name."
Heppert has earned numerous accolades throughout her career for her performance on and off the court. The middle blocker was recently voted onto the Conference USA All-Academic Team for the second-straight year, while also garnering CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team honors for the second-consecutive season. Heppert has been a recipient of the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal for the past three years and has been nominated for the UCF Scholar-Athlete of the Year award twice. Heppert's name has graced the UCF President's Honor Roll and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester she has studied at UCF.
"What a fantastic honor for a woman that represents and optimizes everything that a student-athlete should be," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "It is a very proud moment for our program to have somebody achieve that kind of level of national recognition. It really sums up what our philosophy is both athletically and academically, and to have her be named amongst the best in the nation is really special for us."
On the court, Heppert played in 31 matches in 2008 and led the team in attack percentage (.323), block assists (93), total blocks (103), blocks per set (0.84), service aces (27) and service aces per set (0.22). The senior's attack percentage also ranked sixth among her C-USA peers. In four seasons with the Knights, Heppert ranks third all-time at UCF in total blocks (375) and block assists (319), while ranking fifth all-time in block solos (56) and eighth in service aces (139), aces per set (0.35) and sets played (402).
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CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team
Jenny Heppert, UCF, Sr., Biology, 4.0
Megan Hodge, Penn State, Jr., Management, 3.39
Kelsey Bowers, Florida, Sr., Public Relations, 3.92
Rachael Moss, Duke, Jr., Political Science, 3.93
Jordan Larson, Nebraska, Sr., Communication Studies, 3.31
Lauren Felsing, UW-Milwaukee, Jr., Marketing, 3.98
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