VOLLEYBALL
JENNY HEPPERT - ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN In 2008, UCF middle blocker Jenny Heppert earned a na onal dis nc on that no other Knight volleyball player before her had ever recieved when she was honored by the College Sports Informa on Directors of America (CoSIDA) with a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball Second Team. The Lawrence, Kan., na ve became the first UCF volleyball player to garner Academic All-America® honors, holding a 4.0 cumula ve grade-point average before gradua ng Summa Cum Laude with honors last spring with a degree in biology. “I am totally shocked,” Heppert said a er learning that she garnered the award. “It is an honor. I never really imagined that I could achieve this in my career. It is just a testament to all of the great people that we have surrounding this program. Just the fact that athletes at this University can reach that level is a testament to what Academic Services does and how hard they CAREER ACCOLADES work. It all comes from the top, beginning • Graduated Summa Cum Laude with honors (biology) with Keith Tribble and what he does for the • 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Second Team student-athletes. I am apprecia ve to all of • 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team those people and the tons and tons more • 2008 C-USA Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year that I could not even begin to name.” • 2008 C-USA All-Academic Team • 2008 UCF Scholar-Athlete of the Year Heppert has earned numerous accolades • 2008 UCF Volleyball Scholar-Athlete throughout her career for her performance • 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team on and off the court. In 2008, the middle • 2007 Conference USA All-Academic Team blocker was voted onto the Conference USA • 2007 UCF Volleyball Scholar-Athlete All-Academic Team for the second-straight • 4x C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal Recipient year, while also garnering ESPN The Maga- • 4x C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll zine Academic All-District III First Team • 3x UCF Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee honors for the second-consecu ve season. • Named to the UCF President’s honor roll every semester Heppert has been a recipient of the C-USA • Named to the UCF Athle c Director’s honor roll every semester Commissioner’s Academic Medal, given to student-athletes who maintain a 3.75 GPA or be er, four-straight years and was named the UCF Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior. Heppert also served as co-president of the UCF Student-Athlete Advisory Commi ee (SAAC). Heppert’s name has graced the UCF President’s Honor Roll and the Athle c Director’s Honor Roll every semester she has studied at UCF. “What a fantas c honor for a woman that represents and op mizes everything that a student-athlete should be,” head coach Todd Dagenais said. “It is a very proud moment for our program to have somebody achieve that kind of level of na onal recogni on. It really sums up what our philosophy is both athle cally and academically, and to have her be named amongst the best in the na on is really special for us.” On the court, Heppert played in 31 matches in 2008 and led the team in a ack percentage (.323), block assists (93), total blocks (103), blocks per set (0.84), service aces (27) and service aces per set (0.22). The senior’s a ack percentage also ranked sixth among her C-USA peers. In four seasons with the Knights, Heppert ranks third all- me at UCF in total blocks (375) and block assists (319), while ranking fi h all- me in block solos (56) and eighth in service aces (139), aces per set (0.35) and sets played (402).
CAREER OF FIRSTS During her career at UCF, Jenny Heppert set more than one milestone for the volleyball program. Besides being the first volleyball Knight to be named an Academic All-American, she was also the first to make both the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III First Team and the Conference USA All-Academic Team.
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