Nov. 27, 2012

OXFORD, Miss. – After concluding a strong four-year career at Ole Miss on Friday, senior outside hitter Whitney Craven was honored by the Southeastern Conference by being named to the annual Community Service Team, the league office announced Tuesday.

“I’m very proud of Whitney and her leadership with this team,” Ole Miss head coach Joe Getzin said. “She’s a great representation of what community service should be, and her genuine interest in others has really shown through.”

Craven has dedicated much of her time to the Oxford and Ole Miss communities over her four years with the Rebels. Over the summer months, Craven participated in Habitat for Humanity and helped build houses in Oxford and Jackson, Miss. She also helped walk dogs at the Oxford Humane Society over the summer.

Following the Xavier Invitational on Sept. 2 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Craven, as well as other members of the team, went to City Gospel in downtown Cincinnati to serve breakfast and talk with the people of the drug and alcohol recovery program.

After the experience, Craven said, “It humbles me to see what I have in my life and the amount of second chances I have had. I am blessed to have a team willing to reach out to people who are trying to make better of themselves, and I can’t express enough how thankful I am that I have had an opportunity to play as a collegiate athlete. All you can do is encourage and drive people to continue their journey to be successful.”

The Louisville, Ky., native participated in Reading with the Rebels in September, where she went to local elementary schools to read to the kids. In November, Craven participated in Adopt-a-Basket, where she helped pack boxes of food for families and people in need.

A psychology major, Craven closes out her career at Ole Miss eighth all-time in kills during the rally scoring era, fourth in total attacks and seventh in digs.

The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams for all 20 league sponsored sports. The Community Service Team looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.

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