Dec. 14, 2011
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By Eric DeSalvo
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF volleyball's dynamic duo of Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) and Rachel Vukson (Oakville, Ontario) earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Wednesday. The pair becomes just the second and third athletes in program history to earn the noble distinction.
Prior to Crump and Vukson claiming honorable mention, only former Knight Jenny Frank had been named to the same list in 2003.
"You always hope that you can get to a point at the end of the season when all of the postseason awards are rolling in," head coach Todd Dagenais said. "You hope that at some point the program is in position to earn All-America honors. This is a monumental moment in the program history to have multiple Honorable Mention All-America honors.
"Both of these athletes now have shown our younger players a way and that individual honors are available to UCF players who prosper in a team setting," Dagenais added.
As the youngest Knight to ever earn Honorable Mention All-America status, Crump put up monstrous numbers in just her second year of action. The 6-foot-3 outside hitter smacked 499 kills on the year for a .265 hitting percentage and accumulated 529.5 points. She was named to the AVCA Midwest All-Region First Team, All-C-USA First Team and ranked third in the league in kills per set (4.34) as well as 22nd in the nation in the category.
"Angelica's ability to carry a team really came to fruition this year," Dagenais said. "As she begins to diversify her ability to attack and develop into an all-around player, these honors and more are going to be available to her."
Hoisting up a plethora of passes to Crump was Vukson. The senior setter, capped off her two-year career with the Knights by turning in the best season by a UCF setter in the rally scoring era. The 1,377 assists she hoisted in 2011 is the ninth-most all-time at UCF and the 11.97 assists per set led C-USA and ranks her fifth overall in the nation. The All-C-USA Second Teamer was also a major asset to the Knights defense as she recorded 15 double-doubles in assists and digs and averaged 2.59 defensive helpers per set.
"For Rachel to earn this position is icing on the cake of a wonderful amateur career," Dagenais said. "She was able to accomplish things that many people told her she wouldn't be able to do. She proved them all wrong and helped our team become a nationally competitive squad at the same time."