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Nov. 13, 2003

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia fourth-year volleyball players Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) and Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) have been named to the six-member 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 University Division Women’s Volleyball Second Team as announced Thursday (November 13).

Ashcraft is a commerce major with a minor in marketing and management. Boyle is a Latin American studies major. Both players are three-time members of the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Ashcraft, a 2002 All-ACC First Team libero, is ranked among the NCAA Division I leaders in digs per game. As of matches played through November 8, Ashcraft is seventh in the nation with 5.18 digs per game. She currently has a career-best 568 digs for an average of 5.16 per game in 2003. Ashcraft’s 568 digs rank second on UVa’s single season list, while her 1,544 career digs are also second. She is ninth all-time among Atlantic Coast Conference players in career digs as well. The three-year team captain holds the school record for digs in a match with 42, which she has accomplished twice. She originally set the school mark with 42 digs against Syracuse on September 13, 2003 and tied the record on November 8 against North Carolina. Ashcraft was the recipient of the UVa Athletic Department’s 2002-2003 Craig Fielder Memorial Award for overcoming adversity.

Boyle is third on the team with 267 kills (2.43 per game) and possesses a .293 hitting percentage. She is also second on the team with 130 blocks (1.18 per game). Boyle’s kill and block totals are both career highs, while her 342 career blocks rank fifth all-time at Virginia. With 295 career block assists Boyle also stands fifth all-time at UVa in that category. In 2002, Boyle was the recipient of the UVa Athletic Department’s Distinguished Student-Athlete Scholarship Award.

To be nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his/her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing in his/her career. District III consists of schools from the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Ashcraft and Boyle and the rest of the Cavaliers stand at 24-7 overall and 8-7 in the ACC. UVa wraps up regular season play Sunday (November 16) when it travels to Tallahassee, Fla. for a 1:00 p.m. match against Florida State. The Cavaliers then compete in the ACC Championship, which will be held November 20-23 in Orlando, Fla.

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