May 5, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After one of the most impressive seasons in program history, Mizzou volleyball's Paola Ampudia (Cali, Colombia) was named Mizzou's Rookie of the Year, as announced Monday (May 3) at the second annual ROARS Student Athlete Banquet. She becomes the first member of the Mizzou volleyball team to earn this honor. Ampudia had an accolade-filled first season at Mizzou as she helped guide the Tigers to their most wins since 2005.
Ampudia averaged 5.21 points, 4.69 kills and 2.20 digs per set in her first season of Big 12 play. In fact, in her final 16 matches, Ampudia had more kills (281) than any other Big 12 player over their last 16 matches. That total was 21 more than UT's Destinee Hooker, who took home Big 12 Player of the Year honors today. The Miami Dade-transfer ranked second in points and kills during Big 12 play behind only Hooker as well. On Nov. 28 at Texas A&M, she became the ninth player in program history to post at least 400 kills in a single-season and the eighth under the tutelage of Wayne and Susan Kreklow. Ampudia's 410 kills rank 11th in Mizzou's single-season annals and she is the only Tiger to post 400 kills in a season since the scoring was changed to 25-point sets.
During the 2009 campaign, she posted Big 12 season-highs for the most points (37) and kills (35) during a four-set victory at Kansas on Oct. 24. In fact, those 35 kills against Kansas are a school single-match record and a Big 12 four-set record. She became only the second Tiger to post 30 kills in the rally scoring era and was one of only two in school history to do so in a four-set match; all of the other 30-kill performances came in five-set matches. Ampudia also set a school record with her 26 kills at Texas A&M, the most ever in a three-set match at Mizzou. Those 26 kills are also a Big 12 season-high in a three set match this season. The 26-kill mark has been hit seven other times in Mizzou history, six of which came in five-set matches, making her performance that much more impressive.
Ampudia hit the 20-kill plateau in five times this season and finished the season by posting double-digit kills totals in 14 of her last 16 matches, averaging 5.20 per set in that span.
Ampudia, the only Tiger in Big 12 history to be tabbed Newcomer of the Year, was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week four times in 2009 and was the Big 12 Player of the Week once, becoming the first Tiger to take home that honor since Oct. 8, 2007. She also posted five double-doubles this season as she finished 2009 with 194 digs, good for fourth on the team. Her 74 total blocks on the season also ranked second on the team this season while her 10 solo blocks placed second.
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