BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Three LSU volleyball players made up the nine-member preseason All-Southeastern Conference team in Elena Martinez, Kyna Washington and Lauren DeGirolamo, the SEC office announced Thursday.
This is the first year the coaches have selected a preseason team for SEC volleyball, and the Tigers were well represented, making up one-third of the entire team. Florida was the only other team with multiple selections with two, while Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee each had one.
“We are certainly very excited about having these three players recognized,” LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “They have been the foundation of our program for the past several years and we expect them to lead us once again this year. However, we also recognize that this is a preseason selection and there is a long and challenging season ahead of us and what really matters is where you finish, not where you start.”
Seven of the nine members were seniors, and LSU middle blocker DeGirolamo was one of just two juniors in the mix. The Belleville, Ill., native was All-SEC and an Honorable Mention All-American in 2007 as she led the team, ranked second in the SEC and 19th in the NCAA in blocks per game She already is ranked 10th in career blocks in LSU history with 378.
Elena Martinez had the best year defensively of any player in LSU history in 2007 and returns for her senior year as the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Last year the Tigers libero broke the LSU and SEC record for digs in a season with 703 and digs per game in a season with 5.33. As a junior, the New Orleans native led the SEC and ranked 35th in the NCAA in digs per game and is less than 150 digs away from recording 1,000 for her career. She was an Honorable Mention All-American and an All-SEC selection last season.
A senior outside hitter out of Houston, Kyna Washington rounds out LSU’s selections on the preseason all-conference team. A member of last season’s first team All-SEC, Washington led the team and ranked fifth in the SEC in kills per game. She recorded her 1,000th career kill in 2007 and now ranks third in career kills per game in school history.
The Tigers, listed at No. 21 in the preseason AVCA Coaches Poll, open their season next weekend in the Bluejay Invitational hosted by Creighton in Omaha, Neb.
2008 Preseason All-SEC Volleyball Team
Name, School, Pos., Ht., Cl., Hometown
Kelsey Bowers, Florida, MB, 6-2, Sr., Gainesville, Fla.
Elyse Cusack, Florida, L, 5-9, Jr., Melrose, Fla.
Maria Taylor, Georgia, OH, 6-2, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.
Queen Nzenwa, Kentucky, OH, 6-2, Sr., Baltimore, Md.
Lauren DeGirolamo, LSU, MB, 6-1, Jr., Belleville, Ill.
Elena Martinez, LSU, L, 5-8, Sr., New Orleans, La.
Kyna Washington, LSU, OH, 5-11, Sr., Houston, Texas
Rachel Kieckhaefer, Ole Miss, S, 5-11, Sr., Hartford, Wis.
Nikki Fowler, Tennessee, OH, 6-2, So., Dallas, Texas
*Ties were not broken