Morton, MacTavish Garner BIG EAST Honors
11/20/2008 9:47:54 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURG, Pa. - Juniors Kacie MacTavish and Sarah Morton were honored at the 2008 BIG EAST Volleyball Banquet Thursday night in Pittsburgh, Pa. MacTavish was named to the All-BIG EAST second team, while Morton was an All-BIG EAST first team selection. The No. 6 Orange faces the No. 3 Louisville Cardinals in the opening round of the conference tournament on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
MacTavish ranks second on the team with 268 kills and 2.63 kills per set while adding 11 service aces. Defensively the team captain ranks third with 252 digs and 61 total blocks in 2008. She was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 13 for a standout performance versus conference foes Georgetown and South Florida, where she recorded 30 kills and 35 digs through the two matches.
Morton garnered first team honors after pacing the Orange attack throughout the season with 336 kills including 2.97 kills per set. Her team-best .372 hitting percentage is tied for first on the Syracuse single-season charts with the standard set by Jessica Paarlberg in 1988. The two-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection also paces the Syracuse defense with 157 total blocks for a career total of 465 which ranks third in school history.
St. John’s setter Wioleta Leszczynska was named Player of the Year, while teammate Lena Yee earned her third-consecutive Libero of the Year award. Connecticut setter Annie Luhrsen was a unanimous Freshman of the Year selection and Cincinnati head coach Reed Sunahara was named Coach of the Year.
MacTavish and Morton were also recognized along with teammates Sarah Hayes, Emily Kaier, Marissa Kanemura, Brittany Kern, Jacki Kliment, Annabelle Pellerin, April Quigley, Mindy Stanislovaitis and Hayley Todd as BIG EAST All-Academic team honorees. The Orange was also recognized for having the largest margin of victory among BIG EAST teams this season in its 25-3 victory against Siena on Oct. 21.
No. 6 Syracuse opens BIG EAST Tournament play on Friday with a quarterfinal match up with No. 3 Louisville at 3:30 p.m. in Fitzgerald Field House.
