CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Louisville’s Anna DeBeer and Pitt’s Rachel Fairbanks have been named the Atlantic Coast Conference 2023 Volleyball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and headline the sport’s All-ACC Academic Team announced Wednesday.
DeBeer is a senior at Louisville earning her degree in exercise science. The outside hitter and Louisville, Kentucky, native, was named the 2023 ACC Co-Player of the Year. A First-Team All-ACC selection, DeBeer was also named the AVCA East Region Player of the Year and was a Second-Team AVCA All-American and a First-Team CSC Academic All-American. Additionally, she earned AVCA All-East Region honors.
A team captain for the Cardinals, DeBeer has proven herself as mainstay for Louisville over the last four years. This season, she led the Cards in kills, points and double-doubles, while helping guide Louisville to a No. 2 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and make a run to the Elite 8.
The senior posted a career-high 29 kills in a gritty five-set thriller against Pitt on November 18 – the most kills in a five-set ACC match this season. She became a member of Louisville’s 1,000-kill club and earned two ACC Offensive Player of the Week awards this season.
Fairbanks is a junior at Pitt studying finance. The setter and Tustin, California, native was named the 2023 ACC Setter of the Year. The First-Team All-ACC selection was named the AVCA East Coast Regional Player of the Year and was a First-Team AVCA All-American and a Second-Team CSC Academic All-American. She also earned AVCA All-East Coast Regional honors.
The four-time 2023 ACC Setter of the Week recorded a career-high 933 assists on the season, while adding 190 digs, 59 kills, 52 blocks and 22 aces to lead Pitt to its third-straight National Semifinals appearance. Additionally, Fairbanks set the Panthers to a program-best .303 season hitting percentage.
She recorded 48 assists in the rematch of the historic 2022 All-ACC Final Four matchup between Louisville and Pitt, marking the second-most assists in Panther history in an NCAA Tournament match. For her efforts, Fairbanks landed a spot on the Pittsburgh Regional NCAA All-Tournament Team.
DeBeer, along with Clemson’s Mckenna Slavik, Notre Dame’s Hattie Monson and Pitt’s Lexis Akeo all earned their fourth All-ACC Academic Team…
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