Junior Florida right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) has been named the Southeastern Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week for her stellar performance at the Runza/AVCA Showcase this past weekend, the league offices in Birmingham, Ala., announced on Monday afternoon.
Murphy helped lead the Gators to a pair of wins against top-10 teams, as Florida defeated No. 9 Iowa State and No. 2 Nebraska. She was named to the all-tournament team, averaging 3.00 kills per set on .400 hitting with 5.44 assists per set, 2.00 digs per set and 0.56 blocks per set over the course of the weekend for an average of 3.50 points per set.
Murphy was nearly unstoppable in the Gators’ upset of second-ranked Nebraska. She turned in her 16th career triple-double on Sunday, tying her career high with 20 kills on .514 hitting with 23 assists, 10 digs and three blocks for 22.5 total points.
Against ninth-ranked Iowa State, Murphy posted seven kills, 26 assists, eight digs and two block solos. She played every point of every rotation for the Gators during their nine sets this past weekend, setting and attacking in a 6-2 offensive scheme.
The honor is the third of Murphy’s career, also being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29, 2008 and Oct. 19, 2009.
Florida returns to action on Friday when it plays host to the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational. The Gators first face Albany at 12:30 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The match will be carried live on GatorZone.com with Cory Stephens.
SEC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (AUG. 30, 2010)
SEC Offensive Player of the Week: Kelly Murphy, Florida
SEC Defensive Player of the Week: Hannah Lawing, South Carolina
SEC Freshman of the Week: Paris Perret, Mississippi State
