UF VB | Stucky Tabbed as SEC Freshman of the Year; Three Gators Earn SEC Honors

Stucky Tabbed as SEC Freshman of the Year; Three Gators Earn SEC Honors
Merritt Beason, Marina Markova and Alexis Stucky tabbed to All-SEC Team

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida won one major award and placed three student-athletes on this year’s Southeastern Conference Teams, as the league announced Sunday.

Alexis Stucky earned the title of SEC Freshman of the Year, becoming the sixth Gator overall and first since Rhamat Alhassan in the 2014 season. The Laramie, Wyo. native also found a spot on both the All-SEC Team and the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Merritt Beason and Marina Markova each joined Stucky on the All-SEC Team.

This is the second honor for Beason, as she was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team a season ago.

In her first season in the league, Markova earned her first SEC honor – she was named to both the All-ACC and All-ECAC Teams during her junior campaign at Syracuse.

Stucky also grabbed her first conference honor for her performance in the Orange and Blue this season.

A breakdown of each honoree’s accolades are below:

Merritt Beason

* Second SEC Honor (SEC All-Freshman Team in 2021)
* Has recorded double-digit kills in 19 matches this season
* Tallied four double-doubles in the 2022 season
* Posted a career-high 21 kills in the win over then-No. 4 Wisconsin
* Tied that mark against LSU on Oct. 9
* Registered a career-high 8.0 blocks in the win over LSU on Oct. 9
* Sits first on the team in points (396.5) and service aces (34), second on the team in kills (317) and third on the team in digs (176) and blocks (85.0)
* Has led the Gators in kills 12 times this season
* Has led the Gators in aces 9 times this season
* Has led the Gators in points 13 times this season
* Sits fourth in the conference in aces per set (0.36) and eighth in points per set (4.22)
* Two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week in 2022 (Aug. 29, Nov. 14)

Marina Markova

* First SEC Honor (honored by the ACC in 2021)
* Has recorded double-digit kills in 20 matches this season
* Posted a Florida career-high 18 kills in the final regular season match
* Eclipsed the 1,000-kill milestone in the final regular season match of the year
* Sits first on the team in kills (320), second in points (364.0) and fourth in blocks (68.0)
* Has led the Gators in kills 10 times this season
* Has led the Gators in points 11 times this season

Alexis Stucky

* First SEC Honor
* First Gator since Rhamat Alhassan in Oct. 14 to receive SEC Freshman of the Year honors
* Posted five double-doubles in the 2022 campaign
* Has recorded at least 40 assists in 13 matches this season
* Has led the team to at least a .300 clip in 13 matches this season
* Recorded a career-high 56 assists against LSU On Oct. 9
* Has posted a career-high five kills on three occasions in 2022
* Registered 6.0 blocks against Minnesota on Sept. 4
* Has led the Gators in assists 28 times this season
* Has led the Gators in aces nine times this season
* Eclipsed 1,000 assists during her freshman season, becoming just the second Florida true freshman to hit that milestone
* Earned AVCA National Division I Player of the Week honors on Oct. 18
* Named SEC Overall Player of the Week twice (Sept. 19, Oct. 17)
* Named SEC Setter of the Week twice (Oct. 17, Nov. 7)
* Named SEC Freshman of the Week five times (Aug. 29, Sept. 19, Oct. 30, Nov. 14, Nov. 21)

2022 ALL-SEC AWARD WINNERS
Player of the Year: Emma Grome, Kentucky
Libero of the Year: Jenna Hampton, South Carolina
Freshman of the Year: Alexis Stucky, Florida
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Morgahn Fingall, Tennessee
Coach of the Year: Tom Black, Georgia

2022 ALL-SEC TEAM

Jillian Gillen

Arkansas

Taylor Head

Arkansas

Akasha Anderson

Auburn

Merritt Beason

Florida

Marina Markova

Florida

Alexis Stucky