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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Virginia Tech senior volleyball player Cara Baarendse was named to the 2012 All-ACC Volleyball Team as announced on Wednesday by Commissioner John Swofford. The awards were decided based on a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches. This marks Baarendse third All-Acc honor.

Baarendse has recorded 237 kills this season, averaging 2.17 kills per set while tallying a .349 attack percentage. She has posted 23 aces, 157 digs and 82 blocks. Baarendse ranks seventh in the league and 59th in the NCAA in attack percentage. She has recorded double-digit kills 10 times this season. In addition, Baarendse eclipsed the 1,000 kill milestone and currently has 1,229 on her career.

Florida State junior middle blocker Ashley Neff was selected as the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. Duke junior libero Ali McCurdy was been named the Defensive Player of the Year, and Miami’s Nicole Lantagne Welch was named the Coach of the Year. North Carolina middle blocker Paige Neuenfeldt was chosen as the Freshman of the Year.

Neff, a native of Kennesaw, Ga., leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation in blocks per set (1.65) and is 10th in the country in hitting percentage (.403). Florida State is tied for first in the conference with one match remaining and is No. 12 in the AVCA Top 25, where it has been ranked as high as No. 6 this season. Neff is the second Seminole to garner Player of the Year accolades and first since Brianna Barry in 2009.

McCurdy has been named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. A native of Tampa, Fla., McCurdy has been selected to the All-ACC Team all three years of her career at Duke and is just the third student-athlete to earn the defensive award since its inception in 2009. She leads the league in digs with 5.32 per set.

Neuenfeldt is the second straight Tar Heel to be named Freshman of the Year after Cameron Van Noy took the honor last season. A native of Birmingham, Mich., Neuenfeldt played a key role for North Carolina which is ranked No. 24 in the AVCA Top 25 and in sole possession of third place in the conference standings. Neuenfeldt, named the ACC Freshman of the Week five times this season, ranks eighth in the ACC in hitting percentage (.331) and fourth in blocks per set (1.14). She closed out the season with double-digit kills in 10 of the last 12 matches as the Tar Heels went 11-1 down the stretch.

Lantagne Welch’s Hurricanes are ranked No. 23 in the AVCA Top 25 and are 25-4 and 17-2 in conference play, tied for the league lead. Miami had to replace four starters from the 2011 team, three that were named to the All-ACC Team, including the ACC Player of the year, Lane Carico. Five different Hurricanes earned ACC Player of the Week honors six times this season, and the squad ranks in the top four of the conference in every statistical category. This is her second ACC Coach of the Year honor after previously being recognized in 2008.

Nine different teams are represented on the All-ACC Team, led by Miami’s six student-athletes. Three from Florida State were recognized, followed by two from Duke and North Carolina and one from Clemson, Georgia Tech, Maryland, NC State, and Virginia Tech.

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_VBall).