2017 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball All-Conference and Major Awards Announced
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Southern University outside hitter Paige O'Connor was tabbed the 2017 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Player of the Year, while Belmont Abbey College's Sarah Kenney was named the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Barton College's Kaytlin Elkins earned Freshman of the Year honors. In addition, Barton's Jeff Lennox was named the Coach of the Year, the Conference announced today.
O’Connor, a senior from Ada, Mich., posted a Conference-leading 417 kills and 477.5 points for the Warriors this year on her way to Player of the Year honors. She also put away 3.90 kills per set and hit .251, which ranked second and seventh in the league, respectively. O'Connors 31 service aces were good enough for eighth in Conference Carolinas. She also collected 158 digs and 43 blocks, with her 16 solo blocks ranking seventh in the conference.
Kenney, a junior from Mebane, N.C., was named Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year after finishing third in the Conference in digs (449) and sixth in digs per set (4.4). Her play helped lead Belmont Abbey to a second-place finish in the North Division.
An outside hitter from Hope Mills, N.C., Elkins notched 394 kills for a 4.23 kills per set average. Her kills per set average led all of Conference Carolinas while her total kills finished second only to Player of the Year Paige O'Connor. Elkins also collected 191 digs and 33 blocks in her freshman campaign.
Lennox repeats as Coach of the Year, as he led the Bulldogs to their second straight Conference Carolinas regular season championship. Barton finished the regular season 20-7 overall and 13-1 in league play.
Barton led the way with three first team all-conference selections, as Elkins was joined by Angelica Acevedo and Courtney Wiseman. In addition to O'Connor and Kenney, Limestone College's Rycki Ebert and North Greenville University's Kenzie Pierce rounded out the first team.
Women's All-Conference First Team
Paige O'Connor, Southern Wesleyan
Kaytlin Elkins, Barton
Rycki Ebert, Limestone
Kenzie Pierce, North Greenville
Courtney Wiseman, Barton
Sarah Kenney, Belmont Abbey
Angelica Acevedo, Barton
Women's All-Conference Second Team
Britni Johnson, Mount Olive
Coreen Norwood, Belmont Abbey
Kendall Vallancourt, Southern Wesleyan
Mackenzie Chrapliwy, Belmont Abbey
Becca Huddleston, King
Katie Anderson, Southern Wesleyan
Cassidy Bonito, Belmont Abbey
Women's All-Conference Third Team
Victoria Norwood, Limestone
Miranda Miller, Barton
Cathy Scaniffe, King
Samantha Hebb, North Greenville
Allie Cullens, Barton
Amy Serowski, King
Sara Miller, North Greenville
Player of the Year
Paige O'Connor, Southern Wesleyan
Defensive Player of the Year
Sarah Kenney, Belmont Abbey
Freshman of the Year
Kaytlin Elkins, Barton
Coach of the Year
Jeff Lennox, Barton
Women's Volleyball Regular Season Division Champions
North Greenville University - South Division
Barton College - North Division
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 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, 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.