Dec. 2, 2008
ATLANTA – Callie Miller and Talisa Kellogg were both named to the 2008 All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team, as announced by the conference office Tuesday morning.
Kellogg was tabbed first team all-conference for the second time in as many seasons, and it marks the first league honor for Miller since she and Kellogg were tabbed to the All-ACC Freshman squad in 2005.
“It is great when members of our team are recognized by the other coaches in the league as first team performers,” said Georgia Tech head coach Bond Shymansky.
“We know that individual success is born from great team balance and support, and both Talisa and Callie have had that support all year long as go-to players.”
Athletes from eight of the 12 ACC member institutions were selected to the league’s first- and second-team All-ACC volleyball squads by a vote of the 12 conference head coaches. League co-champion North Carolina, who finished the season at 15-5 and in a tie with Duke, led all schools with four student-athletes on the two nine-person teams.
Miami and Clemson both placed three on the All-conference teams, while co-champion Duke, Georgia Tech and Florida State each had two selections. Wake Forest and Virginia Tech completed the teams with one selection each.
Kellogg finished her career at Georgia Tech ranked fourth in school history with 1,736 career kills and was sixth with 66 solo blocks in her four years on the Flats. Miller had the best season of her career in 2008, finishing the year ranked seventh in Tech’s career record books in total blocks and block assists, while her .314 hitting percentage is the fifth-best mark in school history.
“Talisa showed leadership and came up with some clutch performances this season even though she was constantly battling injuries,” Shymansky said. “Being honored on the All-ACC team is a nice way to finish out her career.
“Callie was one of the top middles in the league this year, and was nearly unstoppable. Her attacking was powerful and efficient, but it was her blocking that dramatically improved this season.”
The duo helped Tech to three-straight 20-win seasons from 2006-08 and at least 12 ACC victories in each of their four years on the Flats.
“I know that we will miss their contributions to the team next year, but we are very proud of their accomplishments this season,” Shymansky concluded.
Clemson’s Danielle Hepburn, a middle blocker from Miami, Fla., was voted this year’s ACC Player of the Year, becoming the second-ever Tiger to win the award and the first since 1999. During the regular season, Hepburn led the Tiger team that finished the league season with 14 wins and a bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championships.
Lane Carico of Miami became the first Hurricane to win league Freshman of the Year honors since the school joined the conference in 2004. Carico, an outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, Calif. became the second consecutive Californian to earn the honor. Carico ranked among the league leaders in kills and service aces. She finished sixth in both kills with 3.18 per set and service aces with 3.18 per set. She played 116 sets in all 32 matches for the `Canes.
Miami head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch was voted as the league’s top coach after she added 12 wins to her team’s total in 2007. For Welch, it was her first coach of the year honor in the ACC and Miami’s first since joining the league in 2004. Welch, in her eighth season, finished the year at 26-6 and 14-6 in league play to tie for third place after being picked to place ninth in the pre-season poll.
2008 All-ACC First Team
Brianna Eskola, North Carolina
Danielle Hepburn, Clemson
Talisa Kellogg, Georgia Tech
Callie Miller, Georgia Tech
Rachael Moss, Duke
Natalie Mullikin, Wake Forest
Kelsey Murphy, Clemson
Lauren Prussing, North Carolina
Felicia Willoughby, Virginia Tech
2008 All-ACC Second Team
Heather Brooks, North Carolina
Lane Carico, Miami
Angelica Ellis, Miami
Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland, North Carolina
Genny Mayhew, Miami
Ashlee Moon, Florida State
Jourdan Norman, Duke
Lia Proctor, Clemson
Lauren Richardson, Florida State
2008 ACC All-Freshmen Team
Simone Asque, Virginia
Lane Carico, Miami
Kellie Catanach, Duke
Sophia Dunworth, Duke
Kadija Fornah, Wake Forest
Erin Leaser, Virginia Tech
Player of the Year
Danielle Hepburn, Clemson
Freshman of the Year
Lane Carico, Miami
Coach of the Year
Nicole Latagne Welch, Miami
