Four Gators Earn All-Region Honors

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 12th-ranked Florida volleyball team placed four student-athletes on the 2022 AVCA All-Southeast Region Teams and won one major award, as announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Tuesday.

Alexis Stucky was named Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, becoming the fifth Gator overall to earn the award and the first since Rhamat Alhassan in the 2014 season. She also earned a spot on the Southeast All-Region Team.

Adding to their resumes, both Merritt Beason and Marina Markova were also tabbed to the AVCA All-Southeast Region Team. That is the second AVCA All-Region for Markova, while Beason found herself on the team for the first time in her career.

Rounding out the Gators is Sofia Victoria, who earned a spot on the AVCA All-Southeast Region Honorable Mention Team – the first AVCA honor for the junior.

The Gators continue play in the NCAA Tournament as they head to Madison, Wisc. on Thursday to take on the No. 2-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers in the Regional Semifinal. First serve is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU and the match can also be heard on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM.

A breakdown of each honoree’s accolades are below:

Merritt Beason

• First AVCA Honor
• 2022 All-SEC Team selection
• Has recorded double-digit kills in 20 matches this season  
• Tallied five double-doubles in the 2022 season
• Posted a career-high 21 kills in the win over then-No. 4 Wisconsin

  • Tied that mark against LSU on Oct. 9

• Registered a career-high 8.0 blocks in the win over LSU on Oct. 9
• Sits first on the team in points (421.0) and service aces (38), second on the team in kills (335) and third on the team in digs (191) and blocks (90.0)
• Has led the Gators in kills 13 times this season
• Has led the Gators in aces nine times this season
• Has led the Gators in points 15 times this season
• Sits third in the conference in aces per set (0.38) and eighth in points per set (4.21)
• Two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week in 2022 (Aug. 29, Nov. 14)

Marina Markova

• Second AVCA Honor

  • Earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention accolades during the 2021 season at Syracuse

• 2022 All-SEC Team selection
• Has recorded double-digit kills in 21 matches this season 
• Posted a Florida career-high 18 kills in the final regular season match
• Eclipsed the 1,000-kill milestone in the final regular season match of the year
• Sits first on the team in kills (338), second in points (383.5)…