Sarah Pavan

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Sarah Pavan (born August 16, 1986) is a 6'5" (195 cm) tall Canadian volleyball player born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario in Canada. She attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, USA, where she led her team to an NCAA title in 2006, an NCAA National runner-up finish in 2005, and two regional final appearances in 2004 and 2007. She finished her career as probably the most decorated and accomplished female athlete in school history.

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[edit] Early years

In High School, Sarah was a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 recruit and the top recruit in the 2004 class. She was a member of the Canadian National Team program. She was named MVP of the 2002 NORCECA Championships, including a 24-kill performance against the U.S. Youth National Team. When Sarah was 16 years old, she made her Senior National Team debut at the 2003 World Grand Prix in Italy. Sarah also starred for the Canadians at the NORCECA Zone Olympic Qualifying Tournament in December of 2003, leading Canada to the semifinals. She was dominant at the 2004 NORCECA Continental Championships, leading the tournament with 100 points to pace Canada to a fourth-place finish. Sarah also played for her father, Paul Pavan, at Forest Heights Collegiate Institute, leading her team to three provincial championships (2002-04), four regional titles and county titles (2001-04). She was named the 2003 and 2004 Waterloo County MVP. Sarah played club volleyball for the Waterloo Tigers, which were also coached by her father, winning five straight Ontario Volleyball Association championships.

In 2004, Pavan was selected as the top high school recruit for her class. She was ranked #1 on prepvolleyball.com's 2004 "Senior Aces" list, which denotes the top high school seniors for that class.

[edit] Career at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

[edit] 2004 Freshman Year

In 2004, during her Freshman year at UNL, Pavan more than lived up to the expectations of being the USA's top recruit, in fact, she arguably had the best freshman season in school history. She became the first freshman to earn first-team AVCA All-America honors since Logan Tom in 1999 and the first Nebraska Cornhusker to ever be named AVCA National Freshman of the Year. Sarah set single-season freshman marks in kills (481) and kills per game (4.54), becoming only the second freshman in school history to lead NU in kills and kills per game since Eileen Shannon in 1989. She topped NU in kills 21 times, including seven matches with at least 20 kills. Pavan played many of her best matches against NU’s toughest opponents, as she averaged 5.08 kills per game on .316 hitting against ranked foes. She set the NU postseason record for kills (35) and attacks (90) in a five-game loss to USC in the NCAA Louisville Regional Final, as her 35 kills were the fifth-highest total in school history and the most by a Husker in the rally scoring era. Sarah was also named AVCA National Player of the Week after averaging 5.83 kills on .455 hitting, 1.83 blocks and 1.17 digs per game in wins over No. 11 Texas and No. 18 Texas A&M. She had earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors after totaling 39 kills in sweeps of No. 25 Colorado and No. 11 Texas A&M, including 23 kills on .500 hitting against the Aggies. Her first career double was recorded on September 10 against Florida A&M with 24 kills and a season-high 15 digs. She totaled 24 kills, four blocks and a pair of aces in a victory at Baylor on Oct. 23.

[edit] 2005 Sophomore Year

In 2005, Pavan earned AVCA first-team All-America honors for the second year in a row. She led her team to the 2005 NCAA National Championship, but the Huskers fell in 3 to the University of Washington. Pavan was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team for her efforts.

After averaging 3.82 kills, 1.24 blocks, 1.66 digs and 0.31 aces per game, she became the Big 12 Player of the Year. She was ranked among the Big 12 leaders in hitting percentage (.357, seventh), kills (seventh), blocks (1.24, 10th) and points per game (fifth, 4.79). 31 times during the 2005 season, she reached double figures in kills, including in a win over No. 12 Missouri in which she reached a season-high 22. Sarah totaled four double-doubles, including a triple-double of 11 kills, 11 blocks and 10 digs against Pepperdine on Sept. 9, the first triple-double by a Husker outside hitter since Nancy Metcalf in 1999. She hit .400 or better 13 times, including the national semifinal against Santa Clara (11 kills on .500 hitting) and the championship match against Washington (16 kills on .429 hitting). Sarah hit a career high .667 at Baylor on November 16 with 14 kills on 21 swings. Also during the 2005 season, Sarah Pavan was selected to the NCAA Omaha Regional All-Tournament Team, as she averaged 4.17 kills and 1.50 blocks per game in wins over No. 14 UCLA and No. 4 Florida. After averaging 4.25 kills on .406 hitting, 1.50 digs and 1.12 blocks per game in wins over No. 12 Missouri and Texas A&M, Sarah was named Big 12 Player of the Week. On November 13 against No. 12 Missouri, she totaled a season-high 22 kills, six blocks, and two aces. On November 2, she matched her career high with four aces against Oklahoma. On September 11, as she was selected to the Players Challenge All-Tournament Team, Sarah had 12 kills on .478 hitting in a sweep over No. 4 Penn State. On September 2, at No. 12 Ohio State, she had nine kills on 19 swings, three aces, and a career-high 12 blocks as she nearly recorded a double-double.

[edit] 2006 Junior Year

During her junior year, Pavan turned in arguably the most decorated and accomplished season in Nebraska's history. She helped her team to their third NCAA Title and was named AVCA National Player of the Year, Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year, AVCA First Team All-American, Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year, Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American, the Honda Award winner for volleyball, the Honda-Broderick Cup winner, the NCAA Championship match MVP and the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team.

She led the Big 12 in points per game (5.98) and kills (5.10) while hitting .313 on the season. She averaged 1.00 blocks and 1.50 digs per game. Sarah was ranked sixth in Service aces at 0.34 per game. Pavan finished the year ranking 10th nationally in kills per game and reaching double figures in kills in 33 out of 34 matches, including at least 20 kills in 10 matches. She set and broke a single-season record of kills per game for the Cornhuskers, achieving 5.10 kills per game, breaking the previous record set by Nancy Metcalf in 1999 which was 5.09. Also, Pavan's 586 kills ranked as the second-best total in UNL history. On December 16, she totaled 22 kills on .378 hitting, a season high 13 digs, and three blocks against Stanford in the NCAA championship match. Sarah reached 1,000 career kills in 236 games, the fastest by any Husker in history, bettering the previous best of 238 games by Nancy Metcalf. Sarah was also named to the NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament team after totaling 35 kills and four aces in two matches, including 20 kills and three aces in the regional final against No. 9 Minnesota. On November 18, she topped the Huskers with 23 kills on .528 hitting, a career-high four aces and eight digs in a sweep of Baylor University. On November 8, in a win over Iowa State University, Sarah led the Cornhuskers with a season-high 24 kills on .321 hitting and eight digs. On October 18, at No. 9 Texas, Pavan led NU with 22 kills, including six kills on 10 swings in game five, of the Cornhuskers' victory. Sarah totaled her first double-double of 2006 against the University of Minnesota on Sept. 10 with 23 kills on .426 hitting and 11 digs. On September 9, she totaled 24 kills on .400 hitting against the Long Beach State 49ers, including eight kills on eight swings in the opener, which was one of the best matches of her career.

[edit] 2007 Senior Year

Pavan was named a first team All-American, and was a Top VIII winner. She was named the Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Year for a conference-record third time. She also earned her second consecutive Volleyball Magazine Player of the Year honor. She becomes the first player in Big 12 history to earn four different individual awards in a career -- player of the year (2005-07) and freshman of the year (2004). In league play, she averaged 5.95 points, 4.95 kills and 0.58 service aces while compiling five of her six double-doubles this season. She finished off her Husker career with over 2,000 kills, which she reached in her final match of her career. She became just the fourth player in NCAA history to be named an AVCA First Team All-American all four years of her career. She helped her team to a 2007 number 1 ranking, which was held since the beginning of the 2005 season until the final 2005 poll (in result losing to the Washington Huskies in the NCAA championship), and every single week in the 2006 season, but it was put to rest after a loss to the Texas Longhorns and on October 29th, 2007, they fell to number 2 as eventual 2007 NCAA champion Penn State took over the top spot. The Huskers stayed at number 2 until the final season poll that put them at number 5 nationally.

She helped lead the Huskers to the Elite Eight in NCAA play. In the Sweet Sixteen round, the Huskers rallied from a 0-2 deficit against Michigan State to win the fifth game, only to ultimately fall to Cal in the Elite Eight round. The loss snapped their 2 year final four appearance streak, and ended a bid for consecutive NCAA titles and Pavan winning consecutive AVCA National Player of the Year honors.

[edit] Interview Controversy

In early 2008, Pavan was amidst a controversy about comments she made to a student journalist, Katelyn Kerkhove, about her career at Nebraska.

“Oh, I’ve never been congratulated for anything I’ve gotten,” she said. “I’ve actually had it said to me before, ‘Why do you have to get every award that there is? You like the attention, don’t you?' It’s hard because I’m actually the complete opposite. I hate the attention. It’s just hard to see that the people you are around so often don’t even know you. I have felt a lot of resentment. I don’t know what I can do about it, you know? I’m not going to change who I am to make other people happy.”[1]

Other comments included that she felt her teammates were jealous of her successes and numerous awards and that nobody understood her.

With volleyball being the most popular women's sport in the state of Nebraska, it caused uproar with fans, including head coach John Cook, who allegedly banned her from practices until she issued an apology to her teammates.[2] Pavan allegedly refused, but Cook later said that accusation was untrue. When asked of whole the story, Pavan simply replied "No comment".[3] She has also stated she was not informed or aware that her interview would be published.

[edit] After College

Sarah has signed a pro contract worth $150,000 to play professionally in Conegliano, Italy with Spes Volley team (A1 National Championship).

[edit] Collegiate Honors & Awards

  • Four time AVCA First Team All-American (2004-05-06-07)
  • Four time AVCA First Team All-Central Region (2004-05-06-07)
  • Four time First Team All-Big 12 (2004-05-06-07)
  • Four time NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2004-05-06-07)
  • Three time Big 12 Player of the Year (2005-06-07)
  • Two time Volleyball Magazine National Player of the Year (2006-07)
  • Two time NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
  • Two-time First-Team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American (2005-06)
  • 2008 University of Nebraska Female Athlete of the Year
  • 2008 Nebraska Chancellor Scholar
  • 2007-08 Today's Top VIII Winner
  • 2007 AVCA National Player of the Week (Aug. 27)
  • 2006-07 Honda-Broderick Cup Winner
  • 2006 Honda Award for Volleyball
  • 2006-07 Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year
  • 2006 AVCA National Player of the Year
  • 2006 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year (4.00 GPA in Biochemistry)
  • 2006 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player
  • 2004 AVCA National Freshman of the Year
  • 2004 AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year
  • Ameritas Players Challenge and Nebraska Invitational MVP
  • 2004 Big 12 Freshman of the Year
  • 2004 AVCA National Player of the Week (Nov. 29)

[edit] High School Honors & Awards

  • 2004 Volleyball Magazine "Fab 50" recruit
  • 2004 Prepvolleyball.com top "Senior Ace"
  • 2004 Waterloo County Most Valuable Player
  • 2004 Waterloo County All Star (basketball)
  • 2004 First Team Honors (basketball)
  • 2003 Waterloo County All Star (basketball)
  • 2003 Waterloo County Most Valuable Player
  • 2002 NORCECA Championships Most Valuable Player


[edit] References

  1. ^ Sarah Pavan struggles with scrutiny
  2. ^ Pavan Interview upsets NU coach
  3. ^ Sarah Pavan throws a grenade at Husker volleyball program

[edit] See also