University of Tennessee Athletics
Nikki Fowler Named to Preseason All-SEC Team
August 17, 2009 | Volleyball
Aug. 17, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - For the second straight season, University of Tennessee junior outside hitter Nikki Fowler has been named to the 2009 preseason All-Southeastern Conference team the league office announced Monday. The team consists of nine players, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
Fowler is one of just two players on the squad that were named to the team last season as well, sharing the honors with Florida senior libero Elyse Cusack. In total, five seniors, two juniors, including Fowler and two sophomores made the list. The Gators topped all schools with three selections, followed by Kentucky with two. The Eastern Division had seven players recognized, while the West only had two.
A 2008 American Volleyball Coaches Association Honorable Mention All-American, Fowler finished her sophomore campaign ranked second in the conference with 3.80 kills per set, en route to becoming the only unanimous selection to the All-SEC First Team.
The Dallas, Texas, native, also led UT in kills (427), kills/set (3.62), attacks (1139), points (493.0) and points/set (4.18). Fowler enters the 2009 campaign ranked third in the UT career record book with 9.57 attack attempts per set and eighth with 3.44 kills per set after two years at Rocky Top.
The Big Orange will open the 2009 season at home for just the second time in the past 11 years when it hosts the seventh annual Comcast Lady Vol Classic, Aug. 29-30. UT will kick off the campaign with a Noon showdown against 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Champion Tennessee Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, before squaring off against the winners of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, Western Kentucky, at 7 p.m. that same day. The final match of the tournament will pit the Lady Vols against Lipscomb at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
| 2009 PRESEASON ALL-SEC TEAM | |||||
| Name | School | Pos. | Ht. | Cl. | Hometown |
| Brooks Webster | Alabama # | OH | 6-0 | Sr. | Baltimore, Md. |
| Elyse Cusack | Florida *# | L | 5-9 | Sr. | Melrose, Fla. |
| Kristy Jaeckel | Florida | OH | 6-2 | So. | Littleton, Colo. |
| Kelly Murphy | Florida # | S/RS | 6-2 | So. | Joliet, Ill. |
| Lauren Rapp | Kentucky # | RS/MB | 6-3 | Jr. | Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Sarah Rumely | Kentucky # | S | 5-11 | Sr. | New Palestine, Ind. |
| Britnee Cooper | LSU # | MB | 6-3 | Sr. | Houston, Texas |
| Ivana Kujundzic | S. Carolina | OH | 6-1 | Sr. | Subotica, Serbia |
| Nikki Fowler | Tennessee *# | OH | 6-2 | Jr. | Dallas, Texas |
| * - 2008 Preseason honoree | |||||
| # - 2008 All-SEC First or Second Team honoree | |||||
