2016 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball All-Conference and Major Awards Announced
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Barton College outside hitter Hayley Marshburn was voted the 2016 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Player of the Year, while Erskine College's Kendall Kirk and King University's Becca Huddleston were named the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Rounding out the honors was Barton's Jeff Lennox being named the Coach of the Year, the conference announced today.
A sophomore from Henderson, N.C., Marshburn led all players in Conference Carolinas with 3.81 kills per set and 366 kills, while hitting a .217 clip to win the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year. She recorded double-digit kills in 21 matches this season, while also registering 230 digs and 27 total blocks. Marhsburn's player of the year award is the first for a Barton player since the 1996 season.
Kirk, a senior from Lexington, S.C., was named Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Kirk finished the regular season second in Conference Carolinas with a 4.73 digs per set average and fourth in toal digs with 440. She registered double-figure digs in 22 out of the 26 matches she appeared in, while compiling 20+ digs in nine matches.
A right side from Lewisville, Texas, Huddleston had a stellar rookie campaign for the Tornado, earning Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year accolades. She played great on both sides of the court, ranking 15th in the league with an average of 2.52 kills per set and 13th with an average of 3.03 digs per set. In total, she accumulated 229 kills and 276 digs, ranking 16th and 12th in the league, respectively.
Lennox was tabbed the Coach of the Year for the first time in his five years at the helm of the Barton women's volleyball program, having been recognized with the honor twice as the men's head coach. He led the program to its winningest season since 2003 and the most Conference Carolinas victories in school history. The season was highlighted by a stretch of 13 consecutive wins from Sept. 24 to Nov. 1, which the team lost just four sets.
Erskine led the way with four first team all-conference selections, as Kirk was joined by Kristen Dodge, Payton Duncan and Sami Harting. In addition to Marshburn, King's Cathy Scaniffe and Southern Wesleyan University's Sarah Hughey rounded out the first team.
Women's All-Conference First Team
Sarah Hughey, Southern Wesleyan
Sami Harting, Erskine
Hayley Marshburn, Barton
Cathy Scaniffe, King
Payton Duncan, Erskine
Kendall Kirk, Erskine
Kristen Dodge, Erskine
Women's All-Conference Second Team
Paige O'Connor, Southern Wesleyan
Kenzie Pierce, North Greenville
Mariana Kedzia, Barton
Ashton Beckner, King
Marissa Greenough, Erskine
Taylor Berg, Limestone
Haley Roe, King
Women's All-Conference Third Team
Alexandra Henriott, Belmont Abbey
Becca Huddleston, King
Brittany Tepedino, North Greenville
Coreen Norwood, Belmont Abbey
Natalie Perez, Mount Olive
Amy Serowski, King
Gabby Martinez, Belmont Abbey
Player of the Year
Hayley Marshburn, Barton
Defensive Player of the Year
Kendall Kirk, Erskine
Freshman of the Year
Becca Huddleston, King
Coach of the Year
Jeff Lennox, Barton
Women's Volleyball Regular Season Division Champions
Erskine College - South Division
Barton College - North Division
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA DII membership process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.