11/5/2009
RETIRING STAT INITIALS
Reprinted with permission from The News Dispatch

Adam Parkhouse
The News-Dispatch

If you know me well, you know that I have deep respect for greatness.

I don't hate the Yankees, I admire Duke basketball and I firmly believe that No. 21 should be flying from the flagpole at Wrigley Field.

I also hold greatness in high regard in the sense that I don't toss the word around. I don't think Ron Santo belongs in baseball's Hall of Fame, it drives me nuts to hear NFL draft analysts call everyone drafted in the first round a great player and I think Tim Tebow is overrated.

Of course, greatness exists on the high school level, too. To that end, I'd like to announce that I'm retiring two labels from my volleyball statkeeping. Maybe I'll get a banner and hang it on the wall in my rec room or something.

Those two things: "AEK" and "ACA." Allow me to explain.

I have my own volleyball statkeeping method. As I track each and every point of a match, I also keep kills and aces. They're the only two stats I keep as I feel the number of kills and aces a team gets tells you a lot about how well it's playing.

I designate who got the kill ("K") or ace ("A") by the players' initials. So, when Marquette's Ashley Edmond gets a kill, I write the score and "AEK" on the line next to the score.

Easy enough, right?

Well, right when Edmond came on the scene, I immediately noticed that she shared the same initials as Michigan City great Ashley Edinger, who had just graduated the previous spring.

Edinger left MCHS as the Wolves' all-time kills leader, so writing "AEK" in my notes was a common occurrence. Then Edmond came along, and she became Marquette's all-time kills leader in her junior campaign. For the past eight seasons, I've probably written "AEK" more than any other three-letter combination in the language. Well, maybe not "the," but you get the point.

Similarly, "ACA" is heading to the rafters of the rec room at my home. As you know, the second "A" is for ace. The initials? La Porte's Ariel Cudney and Marquette's Amber Cerrillos.

Both Cudney and Cerrillos have mystified opponents for most of the last four years with a devastating topspin jump serve. According to Marquette coach Troy Campbell, Cerrillos has piled up more than 600 aces in her career.

But the decision to retire these two statkeeping icons isn't just about sheer volume, though that's certainly a consideration.

No, for these four special volleyball players, it's more about honoring greatness. Sure, it's largely in my own head (and now in this column), but these are four of the best players I've ever had the privilege of covering in any sport.

Keeping "AEK" and "ACA" off my stat sheet is the least I can do.

So, with apologies to any Addison Emerick's or Amanda Clayborn's who might come around, if your particular strong point is kills or aces, it won't go down as "AEK" or "ACA" on my stat sheet. Maybe we can give you a nickname, like Spike or, well, Topspin? We'll work on the nicknames.

But congrats to Edinger, Edmond, Cudney and Cerrillos for making my statkeeping Hall of Fame.

Just be sure to thank your coaches in your accceptance speeches.

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.