State College’s Kuruzovich earns All-State volleyball honors

State College’s Taylor Kuruzovich earned All-State honors in volleyball on Thursday.

The Lady Little Lion junior setter was selected to the Class AAA team by the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. She was the only District 6 player on the Class AAA list.

“I’m so excited about it,” Kuruzovich said. “But I couldn’t have done it without my team.”

The 5-foot-7 setter and right-side hitter helped State College to the District 6 Class AAA title last month before the team fell to North Allegheny in the PIAA first round. She finished the season with 147 kills, 401 assists, 67 aces, 26 blocks and 121 digs.

Her versatility made her valuable to the Lady Little Lions, both being a reliable hitter as well as running the offense as a setter. She began this past season as the team’s starting setter, but in trying to get more hitting on the court the team switched to running a 6-2 offense with Leah Henderson also setting.

“I like setting better,” Kuruzovich said when asked to pick the favorite. “I just have more control over what’s happening on the court. I get to touch the ball more often. I like being a hitter, but I love setting more.”

With all the matches she played, however, her favorite part was the time on the bus.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “We would do homework, talk, play games. It was a great time for team bonding.”

Teammate Kyla Irwin was named to the All-State list last season.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 10:23 PM with the headline "State College’s Kuruzovich earns All-State volleyball honors."