T’ara Ceasar tabbed to Second Team; Lauren Forte named to Third Team; Holly Carlton, Thayer Hall and Marlie Monserez grab Honorable Mention nod
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – An astounding five Gators garnered All-America accolades from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, as the organization announced Wednesday.
T’ara Ceasar found herself on the Second Team, while Lauren Forte earned a spot on the Third Team. This was the first AVCA All-America honor for them both.
Holly Carlton, Thayer Hall and Marlie Monserez were each tabbed to the AVCA All-America Honorable Mention squad.
This was the third AVCA All-America honor in three years for Hall, while Carlton collected her second All-America accolade during her tenure at Florida. Monserez was tabbed as an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention for the first time in her career.
The last time Florida earned five All-America spots was after the historic 2017 season and the feat has only been accomplished four other times since the inception of the program (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017).
With these five honors, Florida has now racked up 46 players with 122 All-America honors since the 1991 season.
The Gators finished the 2020-21 season with a 21-4 record overall, making the 17th program appearance in the Regional Final.
A breakdown of each honoree’s accolades are below:
T’ara Ceasar
* First AVCA All-American Honor
* Two-time AVCA All-Southeast Region honoree (2017, 2020-21)
* Three-time All-SEC honoree
* Earned All-SEC and All-Freshmen Team honors in 2017 at Georgia
* Finished the season ranked fifth in the league in kills per set (3.86), fifth in points per set (4.44) and 10th in service aces per set (0.32)
* Finished the season with 11 double-doubles, the second-highest total in the conference
* Sits first on the team in kills (340), points (391.0) and service aces (28), second on the team in digs (232) and sixth on the team in blocks (38)
* Has notched double-figure kills in 20 of the 25 matches this season
* SEC Offensive Player of the Week (2/15)
* Her 24-kill performance against Missouri is the sixth-highest total in the SEC this season
* Her 19-kill performance against Tennessee is tied for the second-highest total in the SEC in a three-set match this season
* Registered a season-high 24 kills against Missouri on March 12
* Along with Hall’s 24 kills, the duo was the first Gator pair to record 20+ kills since Chloe Mann & Alex Holston on Nov. 3, 2013 (Texas A&M)
Lauren Forte
* First AVCA All-American Honor
* 2020-21 All-Southeast Region Team
* 2020-21 All-SEC honoree
* Joined the Gators at the beginning of the spring portion of the schedule, missing the first eight matches in the fall
* Finished the season ranked second in the SEC in hitting percentage (.458)
* Sits first on the team in hitting percentage (.458), third on the team in blocks (35), fourth in kills (120), and is fifth in points (150.0)
* Recorded a season-high 12 kills against Kentucky (3/19/21)
* Registered at least eight kills in 9 of her 17 matches this season
* Hit over .400 in 12 matches this season
* Earned All-Pac-12 Team honors in 2018 and 2019
* Named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team in 2018
Holly Carlton
* Second AVCA All-American Honor
* 2018 – HM
* Two-time All-Southeast Region honoree (2018, 2020-21)
* 2020-21 All-SEC Team
* Finished the season ranked eighth in the league in blocks per set (1.01)
* Sits second on the team in service aces (26) and blocks (86), third in kills (203), assists (65) and points (274.5) and sixth in digs (58)
* Recorded double-digit kills in eight matches this season
* Hit over .300 in 12 of the 25 matches this season
* Scored at least 10.0 points in 15 matches this season
* Her .733 hitting percentage (12-1-5) against Missouri ranks second in the SEC for the highest attack percentage this season (min. 12 kills)
* Her 55-assist performance against LSU is the highest total for assists in the SEC in a four-set match this season
Thayer Hall
* Third AVCA All-American Honor
* 2018 – HM, 2019 – Third Team
* Third-time AVCA All-Southeast Region honoree
* Three-time All-SEC honoree
* 2019 All-SEC selection & 2018 SEC All-Freshmen Team
* Has racked up four double-doubles this season
* Sits second on the team in kills (305) and points (349.0), fourth in digs (168), fifth in blocks (45) and service aces (16)
* Has notched double-digit kills in 16 of the 22 matches this season
* Registered a season-high 24 kills against Missouri on March 12
* Along with Ceasar’s 24 kills, the duo was the first Gator pair to record 20+ kills since Chloe Mann & Alex Holston on Nov. 3, 2013 (Texas A&M)
* Her .667 hitting percentage (16-2-21) against Arkansas ranks fourth in the SEC for the highest attack percentage this season (min. 12 kills)
* Her 24-kill performance against Missouri is the sixth-highest total in the SEC this season
* Her 19-kill performance against Alabama is tied for the second-highest total in the SEC in a three-set match this season
Marlie Monserez
* First AVCA All-American Honor
* All-Southeast Region
* Finished the season with 10 double-doubles, the third-highest total in the conference
* Finished the 2020-21 campaign ranked third in the SEC in assists per set (10.31)
* Led the squad to a .300 clip or better in 10 matches during the regular season, including a .513 performance against Missouri
* The last time Florida hit over .500 was on Nov. 24, 2019 against Georgia
* Sits first on the team in assists (866), third in digs (231) and service aces (20), fourth in blocks (50.0) and sixth in points (120.5) and kills (74)
* Recorded at least 30 assists in 18 of the 25 matches this season
* Registered a career-high eight kills in a four-set match against Ohio State
* Was just two kills off a triple-double (8 kills, 35 assists, 15 digs)
* Notched a career-best 20 digs in the five-set win against Missouri
* Totaled 9.0 blocks against Alabama in the fall – surpassing her previous career-high of 5.0
* Earned three SEC Setter of the Week and one SEC Overall Player of the Week honors this year
* Her 56-assist performance against Missouri is the fourth-highest total in the SEC this season
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