Little, Kan Selected to Preseason All-SEC Team
8/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Senior Whitney Little and sophomore Carly Kan landed on the Preseason All-SEC Team.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - For the third consecutive season, the 15th-ranked Mizzou volleyball team had two players named to the Preseason All-Southeastern Conference team as both senior middle blocker Whitney Little (Keller, Texas) and sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan (Honolulu, Hawaii) were named to the nine-member team Tuesday (Aug. 12). Both Little and Kan are coming off of monster seasons in which both earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-America honors.
"I am really happy that both Whit and Carly have been recognized by the league's coaches heading into the season," Mizzou head coach Wayne Kreklow said. "To have a pair of players on the preseason team in each of the last three seasons says a lot about what we do here at Mizzou. Preseason awards are great, but I think even Whit and Carly would tell you that it's what happens at the end of the season that counts. But like I said, I am happy for them and it is great for our program."
Little, coming off of a season in which she set the single season school records for total blocks, solo blocks and hitting percentage, is being honored for the first time in her career on a preseason all-conference team. Little currently holds seven school records and needs just 38 total blocks to take over the career blocking record at Mizzou. Last season, Little averaged 2.34 kills per set on .463 hitting, a mark that ranked third nationally and tops in school history. She also matched her own single season school record with 139 blocks and tallied a school record 42 solo blocks in 2013. Little has played in 100 matches in her career, starting ever single won, and is part of a senior class that has won 75 total matches in three seasons. She has the fewest hitting errors in the nation among qualified hitters last season.
"This is the first time I have been honored in the preseason, so it's kind of cool," Little said. "I think these individual awards always say more about the team than they do the individual. We have a great group of girls coming back and some great seniors who I have enjoyed playing with for the last three years. We are working hard to make it another memorable season."
Congrats to @whitney82 and @carl_kan on being named Preseason All-SEC! #STP pic.twitter.com/FHWis8qbfS
-- Mizzou Volleyball (@MizzouVB) August 12, 2014Kan is coming off of one of the best freshman seasons in program history as she was the SEC and AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year in 2013. Kan tallied 383 kills (3.27 per set) on .364 hitting last season. Her .364 attack clip led all outside hitters playing in power conferences last season and she was the only outside hitter in the nation to hit better than .350 with at least 800 attempts. In SEC play, Kan was the only player to average at least 3.00 kills per set and 3.00 digs per set last season. In her last four matches of 2013, all against NCAA Tournament competition including two top-25 teams, Kan averaged 4.77 kills per set on .442 hitting.
"It's obviously humbling to be selected to this team and be recognized as one of the top players in the conference," Kan said. "But for me, it's not about the preseason awards. Nothing has happened yet this year. It is all based on what we did last year. This means a lot, but where our team ends up at the end of the year is what is important to me."
Little, Kan and the rest of the Tigers opened preseason camp yesterday and the team will hold its annual Black & Gold scrimmage on Aug. 20 at 6:30 p.m. For all the latest on Mizzou volleyball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouVB.
Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team
Krystal Rivers, Alabama
Alex Holston, Florida
?iva Recek, Florida
Taylor Unroe, Florida
Morgan Bergren, Kentucky
Brianna Holman, LSU
Carly Kan, Missouri
Whitney Little, Missouri
Shelby Sullivan, Texas A&M
