BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Brittnee Cooper, Sam Dabbs and Marina Skender notched All-SEC First-Team accolades Monday as announced by the league office. Cooper also became the first LSU player to pick up SEC Player of the Year, while Fran Flory was selected SEC Coach of the Year.
LSU (24-6, 18-2 SEC) paced the conference with three All-SEC First-Team selections as the Tigers won their first SEC regular season title since 1991.
Cooper paced the SEC with a .390 hitting percentage and recorded over a .400 clip in 17 matches. Her 3.44 kills per set ranked seventh in the SEC as the Houston, Texas product connected for double-digit kills on 21 occasions. She also headlined the SEC with 1.32 blocks per set and tallied five or more blocks 13 times.
Cooper became the first player in SEC history to pick up the SEC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards on consecutive weeks earlier this season. She also earned CVU National Player of the Week on Nov. 3.
Dabbs dished out 1,067 assists at a 11.23 per set ratio, good enough for second in the SEC. She set the Tigers to over a .300 hitting percentage on 13 occasions and racked up 10 double-doubles. The San Antonio, Texas native eclipsed 40 or more assists 12 times, including a career-best 56 assists against Tennessee.
Dabbs earned AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 13 after distributing 49 assists in LSU’s 3-0 sweep of Florida. She added seven or more kills on eight occasions and finished the season with 119 spikes on a .384 hitting percentage.
Skender ripped double-digit kills in 26 matches, including 23 of her last 25 outings highlighted by a streak of 13 straight matches from Sept. 5-Oct. 16. She also racked up a team-best 13 double-doubles and her 3.90 spikes per set in SEC matches ranked fourth. The Croatia native provided 0.27 aces per set which ranked sixth in the SEC.
She knocked a season-best 20 kills to go along with 15 digs during LSU’s historic win at Florida. She also powered home 19 kills in matches against Kentucky and Tennessee.
LSU plays host to the NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds this weekend at the Maravich Center. The Tigers earned a No. 15 national seed and square off against Tulane Friday in the opening round. First serve is slated for approximately 7:30 p.m. with live stats available on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the 2009 SEC champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
All-session ticket books, which include both first round games and the second round contest, are available for $12 for reserved seats. General admission ticket books are $10 for adults, $6 for students, $6 for seniors and $4 for youth.
2009 SEC Awards
Player of the Year: Brittnee Cooper, LSU
Libero of the Year: Chloe Goldman, Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Scholar Athlete of the Year: Sarah Cline, South Carolina
Coach of the Year: Fran Flory, LSU
First Team All-SEC
Kristy Jaeckel, Florida
Kelly Murphy, Florida
Sarah Mendoza, Kentucky
Sarah Rumely, Kentucky
Brittnee Cooper, LSU
Samantha Dabbs, LSU
Marina Skender, LSU
Nikki Fowler, Tennessee
Chloe Goldman, Tennessee
Second Team All-SEC
Alyssa Meuth, Alabama
Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Elyse Cusack, Florida
Colleen Ward, Florida
Valentina Gonzalez, Georgia
Lauren Rapp, Kentucky
BriAnne Sauer, Kentucky
Kayla Jeter, Tennessee
Farren Powe, Tennessee
All-Freshmen Team
Amanda Anderson, Arkansas
Jasmine Norton, Arkansas
Sarah Bullock, Auburn
Briana Bahr, Georgia
Stephanie Klefot, Kentucky
Whitney Craven, Ole Miss
Leslie Cikra, Tennessee