Gophers Stephanie Samedy named 1st Team All-American for 4th time
The University of Minnesota volleyball team hosts No. 14 Penn State Friday and No. 6 Ohio State on Sunday at Maturi Pavilion. ((credit: University of Minnesota Athletics))
MINNEAPOLIS - University of Minnesota senior Stephanie Samedy was named a First Team All-American on Wednesday for the fourth time by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Samedy also earned All-America honors in the 2017, 2018 and 2020-221 seasons, and was a Second Team All-American in 2019. Senior libero CC McGraw was also named AVCA All-America Honorable Mention.
Samedy, an opposite hitter, is one of the most decorated players in the history of Gophers volleyball. She’s a five-time All-Big Ten selection, including winning the Big Ten Player of Year award the last two seasons.
In 2021, Samedy had the best season of her career with the Gophers. She led the Big Ten and ranked in the top-10 nationally in points (5.34) and kills (4.75) per set. She tallied 12 matches with 20-plus kills, and three matches with 30-plus kills this year, both good for top five nationally. She also averaged 3.61 digs per set, a single-season career-high. Samedy will finish her career No. 1 all-time in matches played (145), No. 4 in kills (2,026) and No. 6 in digs (1,538). She's the first Gopher and second player in Big Ten history to record 2,000 kills and 1,500 digs in her career.
McGraw earns her second career AVCA All-America Honorable Mention in 2021. The Prior Lake native had a career year, finishing second in the Big Ten with career-best 4.59 digs per set. She had eight 20-plus dig efforts and three 30-plus dig efforts this season. She’s one of five Big Ten athletes to have a match with at least 30 digs in 2021.
McGraw totaled a career-high 510 digs this year, and joins Paula Gentil as the only other Gophers' player to record three-or-more seasons of 400-plus digs. She ranks No. 5 all-time at Minnesota with 1,554 digs, and will be back for the 2022 season.