Volleyball's Greta Gibboney Named to AVCA Honorable Mention All-America Team
December 16, 2010
Photo Courtesy of Christopher Shannon
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Complete AVCA All-America Teams
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 30th annual AVCA Division I All-America Teams for women’s volleyball on Wednesday and University of Delaware senior standout Greta Gibboney was named as an Honorable Mention.
It is the first time in her career that she has been named to an AVCA Division I All-American squad and is the lone Colonial Athletic Association representative mentioned on any of the top three teams or honorable mention. She is the first Blue Hen, and only the second player in the history of the program, to be named to an AVCA All-America Team since Steph Barry made back-to-back appearances as an Honorable Mention in 2007 and 2008.
Gibboney was named the AVCA Division I East All-Region team last week, automatically putting her up for All-American status. She was also named the CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year as well as being named to the All-CAA First Team last month. Over the course of the season, she was named as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week on four different occasions.
For the season, Gibboney totaled 654 digs, averaging 5.50 digs a set while playing in all 119 games for the Blue Hens. The co-captain helped lead the team to the CAA Regular Season title and to the team’s third CAA Tournament Championship in four years, earning the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament. Through games played on December 5, Gibboney sits 14th nationally in digs per set, only .44 digs a game off the national leader. The Blue Hens finished 26-6 overall, falling to Virginia Tech in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Dec. 3.
More impressively, the senior stepped into the libero position at the start of this season, after Barry graduated last year. Gibboney turned in one of the finest years statistically by a libero for the Blue Hens. She sits in fifth place in the all-time record books for digs in a season with her 654, only two away from sitting alone in fourth place. Her 5.50 digs per set average is the second best in school history, behind only Barry’s 6.39 in 2007.
Although she only started as a libero as a senior, Gibboney broke Barry’s record of 130 consecutive matches played when she took the court against Northeastern in the CAA Championship. The record stands at 132 as Gibboney is joined by fellow senior Paige Erickson as having played in every match since stepping foot on campus in 2007.
Gibboney, a communications major who is looking to continue her education with the NCAA as in intern following a winter trip to South Africa and graduation in the spring, was also named to the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 Second Team for her academic work. She has recently been nominated as the CAA Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, given to one athlete per sport for each season across the conference.
Breaking down the First, Second and Third All-America Teams, there were only seven players not from a major conference named to either of the top teams. Major conferences include the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, South Eastern Conference (SEC) and the BIG EAST. Five mid-major conferences were honored in the top three teams as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) each had two players named.
The 2010 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Year is Deja McClendon, an outside hitter from Penn State. The 2010 Division I AVCA Player of the Year award will be announced at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet on Dec. 17, in conjunction with the 2010 AVCA Convention in Kansas City. The All-America awards will always be presented at the banquet.
Gibboney was one of 70 student-athletes named as an Honorable Mention.
The Blue Hens ended their 2010 season with a 26-6 overall record, winning the CAA regular season title and the CAA Tournament Championship for the third time in four years. They earned the CAA automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to Virginia Tech, played at Penn State.
AGATE:
1st Team AVCA Division I All-America Team:
OH – Kanani Danielson (Hawaii), Julliann Faucette (Texas), Victoria Henson (Iowa State), Alex Jupiter (USC), Alix Klineman (Stanford), Tarah Murrey (USC); MB – Rachael Adams (Texas), Ashley Benson (Indiana), Brooke Delano (Nebraska), Arielle Wilson (PSU); RS/Opp. – Blair Brown (PSU); Setter – Cassidy Lichtman (Stanford), Carli Lloyd (California). 2010 Division I AVCA Freshman of the Year: Deja McClendon, Penn State, OH
2010 AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-America:
Greta Gibboney (Delaware, DS/Lib., Sr.)
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