Ana Yartseva Named AVCA All-American
December 16, 2004 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 16, 2004
Anastasia Yartseva of the University of Louisville was named to the The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 24th annual AVCA All-America teams for Division I women's volleyball. The awards will be presented Dec. 17, 2004, at the AVCA All-America/Player of the Year Banquet at the Long Beach (Calif.) Westin Hotel.
Ana Yartseva, a 6-4 sophomore middle blocker for the Cardinals, finished the season hitting .447 for second best in Division I. She averaged 2.43 kills, 1.24 blocks and 2.49 digs per game. Yartseva helped the Cardinals into the NCAA region semifinals and their third trip to the Sweet Sixteen. She was named to the Third Team All-American List.
Juniors Lena Ustymenko and Jennifer Hoffman joined senior Bing Sun on the AVCA Honorable Mention All-American List. Ustymenko was the Conference USA 2004 Tournament MVP. Hoffman was ranked all year as one of the top ten blockers in the country. Sun was a three time All-Midwest Region member.
"I am very glad to see our players gain some much deserved recognition after our memorable season," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "This was a very special team that set high goals for itself and then met them. The good news is that we return three of the four honorees next year."
The selections are made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: chair - Janice Kruger, Maryland; Pi'i Aiu, Colorado; Rich Feller, California; Burt Fuller, Utah State; Judy Green, Alabama; Jill Hirschinger, New Hampshire; Nancy Mueller, Illinois-Chicago; and Mark Rosen, Michigan. The AVCA Awards Chair is Illinois State Head Coach Sharon Dingman.Ohio State senior outside hitter Stacey Gordon and Stanford senior outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani have been selected AVCA All-Americans for the fourth time in their career. Southern California senior middle blocker Emily Adams was chosen to the AVCA All-America First-Team for the third consecutive season. Each of the three AVCA All-America Teams is comprised of 12 athletes. The AVCA National Player of the Year will be announced on Dec. 17 at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet.
