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11/13/2009 -
Jacksonville University senior digs into volleyball record book - Florida Times-Union
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Nobody at Jacksonville University knows the Swisher Gymnasium floor better than volleyball player Shelley Walroth.
For the past four seasons, Walroth has been the Dolphins libero, the team's designated defensive player. A libero's job is to stay in the back row and dive after spikes in an attempt to give her team a chance for a point.
In the last four years, Walroth has played in 434 games in JU's 119 matches and has been credited with 2,378 digs. She's ended up on the floor on almost all of them, with roughly half of those digs coming at Swisher. That amounts to more than 1,000 tumbles on the hard court in the gym with a pair of knee pads as her only protection.
Walroth will be honored in a ceremony tonight before the Dolphins (17-8, 13-5 in the Atlantic Sun) meet Kennesaw State (16-10, 10-8) in a 7 p.m. contest. Walroth will be recognized as the only player who has been a member of the Dolphins' volleyball team for the past four years.
"It's been a great four years here under [head coach] Shaun [Kupferberg] and having such supportive teammates," Walroth said. "The atmosphere is great. I love it. Mixing volleyball and school is something where you really need to learn good time management."
Walroth's list of records and accomplishments include all of JU's single-game, season and career marks for digs and average digs per game. It extends to the Atlantic Sun Conference, where she holds essentially every conceivable league record for digs.
With a few more games, Walroth could move into the top-5 all-time for digs in NCAA history. She's currently No. 8 on the list and needs 77 more to move into the No. 4 spot.
"All the records, it's just an honor to have them," she said. "But I'm always more concerned about helping my team win matches. The records will probably mean more to me after I leave the sport."
