LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eckerd senior outside hitter
Lydee Benoit has ended her career on the highest of notes, garnering a selection to the American Volleyball Coaches' Association's All-American Third Team. Benoit's selection as an All-American is the first such selection in the history of the Eckerd Volleyball program.
Coming into the 2009 campaign as the program's all-time kills leader, Benoit led the Tritons with a career-high 457 kills in the regular season, third most all-time, and tied First Team All-American Melissa Vanderhall for the second-most kills per set in the SSC at 3.78 during the regular season and graduates with a total of 1,747 kills, 588 more than any player in program history. Always the complete player, Benoit also placed second on the Tritons' roster with 3.08 digs per set.
This concludes a senior season for Benoit in which she was also named to the All-SSC Team for the fourth time and the AVCA All-Region First Team for the first time. Benoit's career has now come full circle, in a way, as she was named SSC Freshman of the Year in 2006. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. product also led the Tritons to their first-ever NCAA Tournament victory as they defeated Nova Southeastern, 3-1, on November 19 in South Region Quarterfinal action.