Gabby Benda

Height:
5-11
Class:
Freshman
High School:
Wakefield
Hometown:
Raleigh, N.C.

Honors and Awards

2014:
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (Sept. 29)
BIG EAST Honor Roll (Nov. 24)

2014:Finished the season first on the team with 864 assists, averaging 7.78 per set ... Along with Mary Nilles the duo accounted for 88 percent of the team[apos]s assists ...Made first career start in sweep at American (Sept. 5) and posted 24 assists ... Notched 27 assists and eight digs in five-set loss vs. No. 8 Florida State (Sept. 6) ... Registered eight digs in victory at No. 7 Florida (Sept. 19) ... Tallied 34 assists and 7 digs in a sweep at St. John[apos]s (Sept. 27) ... Earned her first BIG EAST weekly award when she was named Freshman of the Week on Sept. 29 for her play against Providence and St. John[apos]s...Completed 43 assists and recorded four digs in a win over Creighton (Oct. 4) ... Two matches later she posted 49 assists in a road loss at Butler (Oct. 15) ... Set her career high with 60 assists on 170 attempts in a four set match vs. Seton Hall (Oct. 18). She also posted a career high with 15 digs during the match ... Had a .526 assist percentage in a win at Milwaukee (Nov. 4).

Prior to Marquette (Wakefield H.S.): Benda was a four-time letterwinner and two-time team captain at Wakefield High School, which she helped to its first North Carolina Class AAAA state title in 2013 as a senior .... Cap-8 Conference Co-Player of the Year as a senior, while leading the Wolverines with 979 assists for an average of 10.50 per set ... 2013-14 Under Armour Honorable Mention All-American ... She led the squad to an overall record of 92-12 in four years as a starter at setter and right-side hitter and amassed 2,158 assists in her career ... A three-time all-conference performer at Wakefield, Benda also competed with Triangle Volleyball in juniors ... High school also won conference titles when Benda was a freshman and sophomore ... Participated in the 2013 Girls[apos] Youth A2 Invitational Training Team Program in Colorado Springs, Colo., on July 5-11 as one of roughly 20 setters (graduating classes of 2014-2016) ... She also spent time as a right-side hitter and competed on the swim team, on which she was a two-time MVP ... Attended the same high school, Wakefield, as former Marquette men[apos]s basketball All-American Darius Johnson-Odom.

Personal: Benda was born in Raleigh, N.C., and is the oldest of two children to Scott and Patty Benda ... Plans to major in exercise science.