Alabama Volleyball Trio Earns SEC Postseason Honors
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Southeastern Conference announced its 2003 volleyball postseason award winners on Thursday night and a trio of Crimson Tide players were among the honorees named at a banquet prior to the start of the SEC Tournament.
Junior outside hitter Erin Heffner was named to the All-SEC first team while senior teammate setter Erin Price received the inaugural SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year award. Junior Kory Tull was Bama’s Good Works Team member.
For Heffner, a native of Ft. Wayne, Ind., this marks her third consecutive All-SEC selection but it is her first time being a member of the first team. She leads the SEC in kills at 5.21 kills per game in league play and averaged more than six kills per game during the second half of the Tide’s SEC schedule. Heffner recorded double digit kills in 26 of UA’s 29 matches including nine with 20 or more. She recorded her career best total of 28 versus Kentucky on Oct. 31.
“Erin has had a tremendous second half of the SEC season,” said UA head coach Judy Green. “She really separated herself from the rest of the outside hitters in this league. I can’t even put in to words how valuable to our team Erin is. This is a well deserved and much earned honor for her and I’m extremely proud.”
Price, from Alpharetta, Ga., became the first player to receive the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year award. She carried a 3.283 GPA en route to earning her bachelor’s degree in management from Alabama in August after just three years. Price has spent this past semester taking classes towards a master’s degree in marketing. A three-time Academic All-SEC selection off the court, she became the first Bama player to record 1,000 career kills and assists on the court. In addition, Price will end her career among the all-time leaders in nearly every statistical category.
“Erin is the complete student-athlete,” added Green. “It has been amazing to see the things she has done both athletically and academically in her career. She is a very bright, intelligent, creative, hard-working person and this award is a reflection of those qualities. It is a tremendous honor for her to receive this award, because she was up against some very tough competition. I’m so excited and proud for her, and I believe she is very deserving of this recognition.”
Tull, a native of Lafayette, Ind., was the Crimson Tide’s member on the SEC Good Works team. All 11 conference schools nominated a player for the squad that recognizes performance in community service activities. Tull led the UA volleyball team in community service logging over 40 hours of volunteer work at elementary schools and soup kitchens over the past year.
“Kory is a very caring and compassionate person,” said Green. “She is a shining example of how athletes should give back to their communities. I am thrilled that the SEC is honoring our student-athletes for their community service efforts. Kory she feel honored to be a member of this team.”
The Crimson Tide trio along with the rest of their teammates are set to open up play at this weekend’s SEC Championship Tournament on Friday night at 6 p.m. (ET) versus South Carolina.
