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UVa's Emily Kirkwood And Katie Oakes Earn All-America Honors
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Dec. 13, 2006
OMAHA, Neb. – University of Virginia volleyball players Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) and Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va./Evangel Christian School) have garnered American Volleyball Coaches Association honorable mention All-America accolades as announced Wednesday (Dec. 13). The two Cavaliers became eligible for All-America consideration after earning AVCA All-East Region First Team honors on Dec. 6.
Kirkwood, a fourth-year setter, and Oakes, a third-year middle, become the fourth and fifth Virginia volleyball players to earn All-America honors. Kirkwood and Oakes join Whitney Ashcraft (2003), Paige Davis (2003), and third-year Sarah Kirkwood (2005) as AVCA honorable mention All-Americans.
Kirkwood, who has been UVa’s starting setter throughout her career, was one of 12 players selected to the AVCA All-East Region First Team. She also captured All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team honors in 2006. Kirkwood was second in the conference with 13.08 assists per game (1,347 assists in 103 games) and her average ranks 26th among all Division I players. In 2006, she started the 29 matches she played in and was third on the team with 39 services aces. The 5-9 Kirkwood concludes her career as Virginia’s all-time service aces leader with 167 (two ahead of her younger sister, Sarah Kirkwood). She ranks second all-time at UVa and seventh in ACC history with 5,424 assists.
Oakes joined Kirkwood on the 2006 AVCA All-East Region First Team. She was a second-team All-CC honoree this season as well. The 6-1 Oakes is currently 10th in the nation in blocks per game with an average of 1.61. She totaled a career-best 163 blocks, the fifth highest single season total in school history. Her 135 block assists is the third-highest total in school history, just eight shy of the school record. Oakes also tallied a career-best 339 kills (3.36 per game) and led UVa with 443.5 total points. She started 23 of the 29 matches she appeared in and played in 101 games.
Virginia finished the season with a 23-8 overall record and placed second in the ACC with a 16-6 mark. UVa set a school record with its 16 conference victories.