RENO — One of the top offensive volleyball players at the University of Nevada was recently recognized for her excellence on the court.

Teal Ericson, a 2004 North Tahoe High School graduate, led the Wolf Pack to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2004 and 2005, and on Thursday, Sept. 12, was inducted along with an all-female class into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame.

Nevada joined the National Women’s Athletic Association in 1919, and in celebration of the centennial, a historic all-female class of nine athletes was selected to be inducted into the university’s hall of fame.

“We wanted to celebrate the anniversary because we felt it was important for our women and all the achievements they had,” said Rhonda Lundin Bennett, Nevada’s senior associate athletics director/senior woman administrator.

During her freshman year at Nevada, the 6-foot 1-inch Ericson was selected to the 2004 Western Athletic Conference All-Freshman team. Ericson caught the eye of opposing coaches and players that season as she smashed 249 kills. Early in the year, Nevada almost knocked off No. 6 Stanford before falling in the final match of the SBC/Sands Regency Volleyball Tournament, 30-25, 30-28, 28-30, 26-30, 15-11. The following year, Nevada lost to Stanford in the first-round of the NCAA volleyball tournament.

Ericson was a second-team All-WAC selection in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, she earned a spot on the WAC’s first-team. The North Tahoe grad became a two-time WAC All-Academic selection and was selected to an all-tournament team six times in her career. Ericson ranks second in career kills at Nevada and third in career points with 1,653.5. She also was named American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Week in October of 2007.

In addition to Ericson, this year’s class includes former Greenwave athlete Ellen Townsend, who competed in numerous sports; softball player Brittany Puzey; volleyball standout Karly Sipherd; a two-time All-American from the rifle team, Meghan Morrill; basketball standout, athletics administrator and community leader, Angie Taylor; and three other multi-sport stars from the 1970s in Pat Hixson, Regina Ratigan and Cindy Rock.

It was both a rewarding and emotional night for Ericson and the other athletes who excelled in a number of sports including rifle, volleyball, basketball and softball. Their involvement in women’s sports at the university spanned more than four decades from the mid-1970s to 2009. Ericson said the competitiveness among athletes in Northern Nevada sports pushed her to become a better ball player at the collegiate level.

“It prepared me very well,” she said after the ceremony. “It was a big commitment, a lot of work to play at that level of competition.”