Lena Ustymenko, Jennifer Hoffman Named AVCA All-Americans
December 14, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 14, 2005
For the first time in school history, the University of Louisville has had two volleyball players named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America squad as seniors Lena Ustymenko and Jennifer Hoffman earned second team honors. Teammate Ana Yartseva was named to the honorable mention All-America team as well.
"Lena and Jennifer made us a very dangerous team to play and helped lead us to one of our best seasons ever," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "They were a very effective one-two punch for our team and I will miss their play and their leadership a lot next year.
Hoffman, a senior from Chicago, Illinois, played an instrumental part in leading Louisville (31-3, 13-1 BIG EAST) to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. Her .445 attack percentage led the nation, and she was an integral part of a Cardinals blocking scheme that was fifth in the country with a 3.58 per game. Individually, she had 1.63 blocks per game, which was eighth in the country.
Ustymenko, a senior from Kiev, Ukraine,was the 2005 BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was the focal point of a Louisville offense that posted a .317 attack percentage, which was fifth in the country. Her 5.30 kills per game was eighth-best in the nation as the Cardinals posted 16.68 as a team - good for 12th in the country.
Yartseva is U of L's all-time attack percentage leader and was named to third team All-American last year.
