Volleyball star honored for record-breaking sophomore season

Bobby Gary 
Contributing Writer

Sophomore outside hitter Romana Kriskova was awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American honorable mention this past December, after already receiving all-region honors for a dominant sophomore season during which she proved to be the true catalyst for the Lady Rams.

Kriskova is the first VCU player to receive the honor of All-American honorable mention since transfer middle blocker Martina Samadan earned the honor a season ago.

The Rams recorded a 26-8 record and reached the A-10 championship match in their 2013 campaign. The 6-foot-3 Slovakian native guided the Lady Rams to many special victories including the first win over a Southeastern Conference opponent at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sept. 18. During the match at Tennessee, Kriskova recorded 28 kills and 33.5 points.

Kriskova racked up many individual awards while leading the Rams on the court, and shattered VCU and national records along the way. Head coach Jody Rodgers transitioned Kriskova to the outside hitter position just this past season, and the second-year player capitalized on her offensive capabilities. Kriskova recorded double-digit kill totals in all 34 matches this season and recorded 20 kills in 12 different matches. She also set her single match career high 29 kills against the College of William & Mary, which was the most kills by any VCU player since 2007.

Kriskova produced 623 kills this season, which helped her earn the A-10 offensive player of the week award on five sepapate occasions this past season. Kriskova finished fifth nationally in kills per set (4.83) and led the A-10 with 50 aces in the season. Not only was Kriskova dangerous offensively with her 5.57 points per set (fourth in the country), but she also played a key role in a defense that stymied opponents. Kriskova recorded 78 blocks on the season, which was fourth most overall on the Lady Rams’ team.

The sophomore proved how dangerous she was in non-conference play, earning a spot on the all-tournament roster in all four non-conference tournaments, including the season-opening IUPUI Hampton Inn invitational tournament.

Kriskova also played well in the A-10 championship game, recording 21 kills in the loss to Duquesne University in Washington, D.C. In a season that was spectacular for VCU volleyball, Kriskova reached the 10th most career kills for a VCU player with 884 kills already after just two seasons with the Lady Rams.

With no seniors graduating, VCU appears to be in good shape heading into 2014 as Kriskova—a potential national player of the year candidate­­—leads the Lady Rams in search of their first A-10 regular season title and conference championship.