Strantzali and Templeton Receive AVCA All-America Honors
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the first time since 2014, the University of Miami volleyball team had two players earn AVCA All-America recognition in the same season, as senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali and redshirt junior setter Haley Templeton were named on the Honorable Mention list.
“It’s an exciting day of Olga and Haley,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. “They played big roles in helping us accomplish so much as a team this season and their accomplishments on the court make them very deserving of the national honors they received. They are two of the best in the country and this recognition supports that.”
Strantzali earned All-America honorable mention for the second straight year. The senior recorded an ACC-best 499 kills and 4.56 kills per set, which helped her earn the title ACC Player of the Year. She had 43 service aces and 46 blocks to accumulate 569 points in 110 sets, an average of 5.17 points per set. The outside hitter wrote her name in Miami Volleyball history after breaking the program’s record for kills in a match when she tallied 33 in a four-set victory over Louisville on Oct. 20.
“It’s an amazing honor and it says a lot about the great job that University of Miami does,” Strantzali said. “I’m glad that I finished my career among the best players in the country and helped my team achieve its goals.”
Templeton received her first All-America honor on the back of a remarkable comeback season. The 2014 AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year posted 1,175 total assists in 2017 – an average of 10.75 per set – while sitting only one out of the team’s 110 sets to earn First Team All-ACC recognition, as well. With a season to go in her career, Templeton sits third in program history for career assists with 3,583. She trails second-placed Jill Robinson by 1,354 assists. Katie Gallagher is Miami’s all-time assists leader with 5,173 assists.
“It means so much to being named All-America honorable mention and to represent the University of Miami with Olga,” Templeton said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of my coaches and teammates because they are constantly pushing me to be my best and work harder everyday. This award gets me even more excited to get back in the gym and start training again for my last season.”
In addition to running the offense, Templeton also proved her attacking might from the setter position, averaging nearly a kill per set for a total of 102 kills. She accumulated 31 aces – including 17 in the last five matches to help the Canes go on a seven-match win streak and earn their first postseason victory in three seasons before falling in a four-set battle to second-seeded Florida in the second round of the 2017 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. The setter’s eight service aces in Miami’s five-set win at Virginia on Nov. 17 are the second-most in a single match in program history.
Strantzali and Templeton are the first duo of Hurricanes to earn AVCA All-America honors since Miami had a pair of seniors recognized in 2014. Savanah Leaf, who was the AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year and ACC Player of the Year, was named to the All-America Second Team, while Emani Sims received All-America Honorable Mention distinction.
For a full list of the 2017 AVCA All-America honors, click here.
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