Nation of Blue would like to help honor Whitney Billings of the Kentucky Wildcats volleyball team for receiving SEC Freshman of the Week honors today. Also of importance to note is that Billings is the first Wildcat to receive the SEC honor in the 2010 season. Whitney is a 6’2″ red shirt Freshman from Helena, Alabama who played high school volleyball for Pelham.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Billings has started 9-of-10 matches for the Blue and White this season and is UK’s top offensive performer with over 3.20 kills per frame. She broke out this weekend for a career-best 23-kill performance against No. 17 Florida State. Billings became the first Kentucky player this season to record 20 or more kills in a match and did so on a career best .360 hitting percentage.
During Kentucky’s 2-2 week, she reached double-figures in three matches and had a pair of double-double efforts including a 14-kill, 16-dig effort in a five-set win over Kansas State. Her 16 scoops against the other Wildcats is a career-high. Billings is becoming more efficient offensively, as her hitting percentage was nearly 100 points higher than her season average and she hit over .300 in two of the four matches this week for the Blue and White.
[URL=”http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/091310aaa.html”]Source[/URL].
[B]More about Whitney Billings:[/B]
A two-time National High School Player of the Year finalist in both her freshman and sophomore seasons … Earned six varsity letters … Twice was named to the Birmingham News All-State first team … As a junior she was the Metro Player of the Year and the Shelby County Player of the Year … In her sophomore season she was named to the Class 6A State All-Tournament team … Played with the Junior Olympic volleyball 14-and-under tour in South Africa … Also a member of the Volleyball Junior Olympic Girls 16 American All-Tournament team in 2006 … An honor roll student and involved in a number of community service projects … In 2004, she toured South Africa with “Bring it to USA Volleyball” and helped promote the event by working with local companies to donate goodie bags for the opposing teams.
