BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford University volleyball program has taken steps upward on the national scene after being recognized in several different ways at the National Convention in Omaha, Neb., during the National Championship Weekend.
Senior outside hitter Ashley Adams was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-American for the third consecutive year. Adams was one of 73 student-athletes to earn the honorable mention honor while 42 athletes made up the first, second and third teams were selected by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee. Adams was one of three athletes in the state of Alabama to earn the honor.
Adams was nationally ranked throughout the year in hitting percentage and kills per set, ending the season ranked 21st in kills per set with 4.21. She finished her stint as a Bulldog leading in kills (425) and kills per set (4.21) and tied for first with fellow senior Kirstein Sosnowski for hitting percentage with a .349 average.
The Cumberland School of Law student broke the record for most kills in a match in September when she knocked down 31 in a five-set win over Murray State. She also now ranks eighth on the single-season kills list and second with Sosnowski on the single-season hitting percentage list.
Adams was named the SoCon Player of the Year while also earning the Player of the Week award three times during the season and the Player of the Month award for September. This is the third time Adams has earned All-Region honors during her collegiate volleyball career.
Samford head coach Derek Schroeder was also asked to speak at the convention. Schroeder participated in a panel discussion on the transition from assistant coach to head coach. Other participants were Erich Hinterstocker, third-year head coach at North Dakota State University and Sally Polhamus, first-year head coach at Wintrhop.
“This was such a great opportunity to put Samford athletics on the map,” Schroeder said. “I was honored to have the opportunity to speak about the transition from assistant coach to head coach, the institution that gave me that chance, and to get the Samford athletics name out there.”
In his first year at the helm of the Bulldog volleyball program, Schroeder led his team to a 28-5 record, the best record in the 21 years of the programs existence. The Bulldogs only lot two regular-season conference matches and won the program’s first conference division title in school history. Samford became the first school in the history of Southern Conference volleyball to win its division in its first year as a member institution.
Schroeder also led the Bulldogs on a 12-match win streak, the longest in school history since 1991 when the Bulldogs won eight straight. Samford also posted its first undefeated home record in school history.
Finally, Samford 2009 signee Casey Garvery rounded out her illustrious high school career in the inaugural Under Armour All-America High School Volleyball Match & Skills Competition on Sunday, Dec. 21 at Qwest Arena in Omaha, Neb. The event showcased the talents of the 24 high school seniors from 17 states who comprised the 2008 Under Armour First-Team High School All-America.
Garvey was on Team Black who fell 25-21, 15-25, 25-20 to Team Red but led all four setters, two on each team, with 13 assists.
Garvey had great pedigree as she comes from a well-known volleyball family in Louisville, Ky. Her father, Ken Garvery coaches the 16-1 team at MidAmerica Volleyball Association (MAVA) while her brothers Eric and Todd coach at Louisville area high schools. Todd was Casey’s high school at Mercy Academy.
In her four years at Mercy, her squad was won nine different championships. The Jaguars have been district and regional champions since 2005 and are the recent 2008 Kentucky State Champions. Garvey was captain of her high school team this year and was named Most Valuable Player at the Kentucky State Tournament. She also received all-state first team honors and was the sixth region Player of the Year. She was named ESPN’s Athlete of the Week on Nov. 5.
Garvey is just on of four signees the Bulldogs have announced for the upcoming 2009 season. Samford’s signing class ranks among the nation’s top recruiting classes. At the Under Armour All-America High School Volleyball Match & Skills Competition, Garvey played with some of the nation’s top recruits who will join the nation’s top programs such as Nebraska, UCLA, and Texas next season.