Five Tiger Volleyball Players Earn All-Conference Honors

Dec. 3, 2009

GREENSBORO, NC – Five Clemson volleyball players earned All-ACC accolades as announced by the conference office on Thursday. Seniors Didem Ege, and Didem Ege also won the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year title as the conference’s all-time leader in digs. The awards were voted upon by the league’s 12 coaches.

The Tigers learned the news the day before they play 14-seed Oregon in the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, KY. The appearance is Clemson’s third straight and eighth overall. Clemson’s four selections were tied for the most with Florida State, the third overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Ege and Murphy earn the award for the third time. Ege was named All-ACC as a freshman, sophomore, and senior, while Murphy has be there each of the past three seasons. Proctor earns her second consecutive nod, while Adeleye is a first-time selection. Adeleye is only the fourth player in Clemson history to earn All-ACC honors as a freshman, joining Ege in 2006, Jessi Betcher in 1999, and Michelle Thieke in 1995. She joins ACC Freshman Player of the Year, Monique Mead of Georgia Tech, as the only two freshmen among the sixteen selections in 2009.

Alexa Rand and Adeleye were named to the All-Freshman team and are Clemson’s first representatives since the 2006 season when Murphy and Ege made an appearance. It is only the third time in Clemson history that more than one freshman has been honored, and the Tigers are the only team to place more than one player on the team this season.

Ege also earned her first career Defensive Player of the Year award, as the Istanbul, Turkey native set the ACC’s career record for digs and digs per set for a career. Ege had a career-best 36 digs against Furman in 2009, and has averaged nearly 5.00 digs/set this season.

Murphy, a three-time selection is the only player in ACC history to record 5,000 assists, 1,000 digs, and 400 blocks in a career. She has guided the Tigers to three straight NCAA Tournaments, the 2007 ACC Championship, and has led Clemson to the top league hitting percentage in two of the past three seasons.

Proctor was second in the league this season, averaging 3.80 kills per set. The senior will leave Clemson in the top ten in career kills and attempts. She posted a career-high 24 this season against Duke, and was second in the conference with 15 double-doubles.

Adeleye came on strong late, and was sixth among all ACC players in kills/set in ACC play. The freshman finished the regular season third in the ACC in hitting percentage and fourth in blocks per set. She also averaged more than 3.00 kills per set for the season, the highest among all league middles.

Alexa Rand earns the All-Freshman nod after hitting .398 in the regular season, which ranks second in the ACC and ninth in the NCAA, and could finish as the top hitting season in Clemson history. She also averaged 1.29 blocks per set, which ranked second in the ACC.