St. John's University Athletics
Huang Earns Volleyball's First-Ever All-America Honor
12/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 12, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the Division I All-America Teams for the 2007 season Wednesday and St. John's senior middle blocker Hui Ping Huang earned a spot on the third team. Huang becomes the first Red Storm volleyball player to receive this national honor.
The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year finished the 2007 campaign with arguably one of the best seasons of any player in the 14-year history of the St. John's volleyball team. She set the Red Storm's single-season hitting percentage record with an astonishing .477 mark, toppling the old mark of .350 set last year by Caitlin Rimgaila. The mark also ranks fourth in the country. Huang was named the CVU.com National Player of the Week for the 15th week and was named to the All-BIG EAST first team as well as the All-BIG EAST Tournament team. She earned BIG EAST Player of the Week accolades on Oct. 22. The Shanghai, China native ranked first on the team in hitting percentage, kills (529, 4.68 per game), and blocks per game (1.12). She had earned All-America honorable mention after her junior season last year.
In addition to the All-America Teams, the AVCA also announced the Division I Honorable Mention All-Americans. Senior Wioleta Leszczynska is on the list for the second straight year, while senior LaToya Blunt and junior Lena Yee earn the honor for the first time in their careers.
Leszczynska has enjoyed the best season that a Red Storm setter has ever had. She registered a St. John's single-season record 1,760 assists and her 14.19 assists per game ranks third in the country. The Bielsko-Biala, Poland native recorded a career-high 70 assists on Nov. 17 in the semifinal match of the BIG EAST Tournament against the University of South Florida and was later named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She was named to the All-BIG EAST first team, as well as BIG EAST Player of the Week on Oct. 1.
Blunt earns her first All-America honorable mention honors in her four years at St. John's. She has been a standout performer on the court for the Red Storm this season. The senior ranks right behind Huang for second on the team and is third in the BIG EAST Conference with a .358 hitting percentage. She also earned first team All-BIG EAST accolades for the first time this year, and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Sept. 24.
Yee also receives the All-America honorable mention for the first time in her career. The junior won her second consecutive BIG EAST Libero of the Year award after another spectacular season in the Red Storm's backcourt. She led the team and is third among BIG EAST players with 4.75 digs per game. She set the Red Storm's single-season digs record, registering 594 digs this year. The Honolulu, Hawaii native recorded her first 30-dig game of the season in St. John's second round victory over Delaware on Dec. 1.
