Hey all, after 3 years of blogging here on blogger.com I'll be moving over to the new ANTEATER VOLLEYBALL BLOG URL. Check it out. I still will post here for a little while longer to compare traffic.
ANTEATER VOLLEYBALL BLOG
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Lauds & Laurels’ outstanding student-athlete
Original Article
Great article on Steller!
Jon Steller
Lauds & Laurels’ outstanding student-athlete
A winning season
Volleyball player Jon Steller is a standout on the court, in the community and at school (05.01.2009)
On his right arm, fifth-year volleyball player Jon Steller has tattooed Greek numbers symbolizing his favorite biblical passage: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
He can see the tattoo when he makes a “kill” – a volleyball spike the opposing team is unable to return; when he rolls up his sleeves while volunteering at a free healthcare clinic in Mexico; and when he’s in class, pursuing a double major in neurobiology and the classics at UC Irvine.
“It’s a way to check if I’m living according to my philosophy – if I’m doing the right thing,” says Steller, who hopes to become a doctor.
That philosophy has made him a winner on the court, in the community and at school, earning him the 2009 Lauds & Laurels award for outstanding student-athlete. (The UCI Alumni Association’s Lauds & Laurels ceremony takes place Thursday, May 14, at the Hilton Irvine.)
Steller has helped his teammates reach the top of their game, winning the national title in 2007 and delivering another white-knuckle season this spring.
“After we won the national title, we went to the White House and met President Bush. It was a neat experience to shake his hand and give him a stuffed Anteater,” Steller says.
Among many other athletic and academic honors, he made the 2007 Living Our Values student honor roll and was named to the 2008 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Second Team.
Still, Steller’s not in the game for personal glory.
After a knee injury and a painful loss in the 2006 NCAA semifinals, he says, he “learned to set aside my own goals for team goals.”
“Out of this team awareness sprouted a social awareness,” Steller wrote in his medical school application. “Assuming responsibility for my teammates, my friends and my family, while honorable, isn’t enough. I have a social responsibility to step outside my comfortable Southern California life, whether it is 10,000 miles or 10 minutes from home, because I have the capacity to make a difference.”
In 2007, he spent three weeks in Ukraine on a humanitarian mission, visiting orphanages and establishing a summer camp for homeless children. “Many are toddlers abandoned by their parents. We went there to give them some attention and hope,” Steller says.
He also belongs to OrangeFISH (Fellowship for International Service and Health), a student-run nonprofit that provides medical services to the needy abroad. Under its auspices, Steller in May 2008 assisted a doctor at a clinic for the poor outside Tijuana, Mexico.
“Jon transcends what it means to be a student-athlete by his global perspective and service,” wrote athletics director Michael Izzi in his Lauds & Laurels nomination letter.
This fall, after marrying his high school sweetheart, Steller will begin medical school at UCI – his first choice, he says, because “it has the same philosophy that I do of wanting to serve the underserved.”
— Kathryn Bold, University Communications
Four Men's Volleyball Players Earn All-American Distinction
UC Irvine Story on All-Americans
Four Men's Volleyball Players Earn All-American Distinction
Ryan Ammerman named to the first team
May 5, 2009
Irvine, Calif. – Four UC Irvine men’s volleyball players earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honors including Ryan Ammerman who was named to the first team.
Sophomore outside hitter Jordan DuFault, sophomore middle blocker Kevin Wynne and freshman opposite Carson Clark were each selected to the second team. It is the first All-American honor for each player.
Ammerman is averaging 12.55 set assists which is ranked 12th nationally. He leads the team in service aces with 28. The senior becomes the fifth UCI player to earn first team distinction. He was named AVCA National Player of the Week as well as MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Mar. 8, 2009. He was also named first team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
DuFault is averaging 3.25 kills and 3.93 points per set. He also averages 1.81 digs and 0.91 blocks per set. The third team All-MPSF selection garnered AVCA National Player of the Week and MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Apr. 13.
Wynne is ranked 14th nationally in blocking with a 1.34 mark. He ranks third overall among MPSF players in hitting percentage (.467) and led the league in MPSF-matches only (.479). The sophomore was a second team All-MPSF choice.
Clark, a redshirt freshman, joins Brent Asuka as the only two UCI freshmen to earn All-American status in their first year. He leads the team in kills averaging 3.94 per set, which is 17th in the country. The opposite is hitting .344 overall which is 25th in the country. He was honored as the MPSF Freshman of the Year as well as first team and All-Freshman team accolades.
No. 1 seed UC Irvine takes on No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Championship semifinal Thursday (May 7) in Provo, UT at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
Four Men's Volleyball Players Earn All-American Distinction
Ryan Ammerman named to the first team
May 5, 2009
Irvine, Calif. – Four UC Irvine men’s volleyball players earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American honors including Ryan Ammerman who was named to the first team.
Sophomore outside hitter Jordan DuFault, sophomore middle blocker Kevin Wynne and freshman opposite Carson Clark were each selected to the second team. It is the first All-American honor for each player.
Ammerman is averaging 12.55 set assists which is ranked 12th nationally. He leads the team in service aces with 28. The senior becomes the fifth UCI player to earn first team distinction. He was named AVCA National Player of the Week as well as MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Mar. 8, 2009. He was also named first team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).
DuFault is averaging 3.25 kills and 3.93 points per set. He also averages 1.81 digs and 0.91 blocks per set. The third team All-MPSF selection garnered AVCA National Player of the Week and MPSF Co-Player of the Week on Apr. 13.
Wynne is ranked 14th nationally in blocking with a 1.34 mark. He ranks third overall among MPSF players in hitting percentage (.467) and led the league in MPSF-matches only (.479). The sophomore was a second team All-MPSF choice.
Clark, a redshirt freshman, joins Brent Asuka as the only two UCI freshmen to earn All-American status in their first year. He leads the team in kills averaging 3.94 per set, which is 17th in the country. The opposite is hitting .344 overall which is 25th in the country. He was honored as the MPSF Freshman of the Year as well as first team and All-Freshman team accolades.
No. 1 seed UC Irvine takes on No. 4 Ohio State in the NCAA Championship semifinal Thursday (May 7) in Provo, UT at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.
Monday, May 4, 2009
4 Anteaters are All-Americans!
2009 AVCA-All America Teams
Congratulations and great work for the guys!
1st Team
Ryan Ammerman
2nd Team
Carson Clark
Jordan DuFault
Kevin Wynne
Congratulations and great work for the guys!
1st Team
Ryan Ammerman
2nd Team
Carson Clark
Jordan DuFault
Kevin Wynne
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)