USF Athletics

Walker and Payne Named to All-American Athletic Conference Teams

November 27, 2018

TAMPA, NOVEMBER 27, 2018 – Junior outside hitter Jac'cara Walker and redshirt senior middle blocker Clara Payne both earned All-American Athletic Conference recognition, the league announced Tuesday morning.

Walker (Gainesville, Fla.) was named to the first team and Payne (Osteen, Fla.) earned a spot on the second team. It marks the first time since 2015 that the Bulls had an all-conference recipient and the first time since 2013 that USF had two honorees. The program has now had five All-American Athletic Conference selections.

Walker looked right at home in her first season in Tampa, leading the team with 375 kills and 14 double-doubles. She finished third amongst American Athletic Conference outside hitters in kills. Walker tallied at least 20 kills four times, including a season high 22 against Houston on Oct. 28 to record her 1000^th career put down. Walker finished fourth in the league with 3.50 kills per set.

Payne earns her first all-conference nod after finishing second on the team with 280 kills, hitting .290 to finish eighth in the conference. She finished second on the Bulls with 115 blocks and led the team with 29 service aces. Payne became the seventh player in program history to reach 400 career blocks, also doing so against Houston on Oct. 28. She had a career best 10 rejections against SMU on Oct. 26 and has had no fewer than 93 blocks in each of her four years at USF.

The Bulls will make their first postseason appearance since 2002 on Thursday in the opening round of the NIVC. USF will take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The winner will then face either the College of Charleston or St. John's. The program went to the postseason eight times from 1993-2002, making the NCAA Tournament seven times and the NIVC in 1994.

About USF Volleyball
Now in her seventh season with the Bulls, head coach Courtney Draper has her team at 20-11 heading into the program's first postseason since 2002. Redshirt senior middle blocker Clara Payne became the seventh player in program history to reach 400 career blocks earlier this season. Sophomore Jaeden Brown is second in The American in total blocks. Junior transfer Jac'cara Walker has led USF in kills all season long, finishing fourth in the league with 3.50 kills per set, as she recorded her 1000^th career kill earlier in the year.
 
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