Tampa’s Berkley Whaley Selected as 2014-15 SSC Female Athlete of the Year

06.11.15

MELBOURNE, Fla. - University of Tampa junior outside hitter Berkley Whaley has been named the 2014-15 Sunshine State Conference Female Athlete of the Year. This past season she led the Spartans to their second NCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship in school history and was named National Player of the Year.

Whaley was chosen for the award in a vote conducted among Sunshine State Conference Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Athletic Communication Directors, and Faculty Athletic Representatives from each of the nine member institutions.

Whaley, a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, led the 2014 Tampa Spartans to a 16-0 league record, 34-1 overall record, and the NCAA Division II National Championship. A five-time SSC Player of the Week in 2014, she was the SSC leader in Kills (453) and Kills per game (4.04). She led her team in digs (316), Service Aces (22) and Points (508) all while posting a .366 hitting percentage.

With her efforts on the court she earned Division II National Player of the Year honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Along with AVCA Division II First-Team All-American accolades. The outside hitter is a two-time consecutive Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Player of the Year and has been named to the All-SSC first-team in both of her seasons at Tampa.

In 2014-15, Whaley has been honored as a Capital One First-Team Academic All-American and CoSIDA Academic All-District. Whaley, an Advertising and Public Relations major, posted a 4.0 grade point average in the Fall earning Commissioner’s Honor Roll for a second consecutive year.

Whaley is the fourth Tampa student-athlete to be selected as SSC Athlete of the Year since the award was started in 1987-88. She joins Danielle Selkridge (2012-13) and Danielle Faggion (1999-00) on the list of past Spartan volleyball players to win the annual award.