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Nickole Kennedy Earns AVCA All-Region Accolades

Nickole Kennedy Earns AVCA All-Region Accolades
Posted: Dec 07, 2005
Contact: Alan Ashby

Dec. 7, 2005

CLEVELAND - Nickole Kennedy, the 2005 Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Year, was named on Wednesday to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Midwest Region Team. The senior opposite joins 2004 honoree Jamie Bouyer as the only players in school history to earn all-region recognition from the AVCA.

"We put a lot of responsibility on Nikki's shoulders this season and she responded with the best year of her career," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "This honor is very well-deserved and is a sign of the increased visibility and stature of our program."

A first team All-Horizon League selection for the second year in a row, Kennedy led the league in hitting percentage (.318) and was third in kills (3.83) and fifth in blocks (1.06). She had 18 matches with double-digit kills, including five with 20 or more, capped off by a season-high 23 kills, a .390 hitting percentage and five blocks in the league semifinals. Named the league Player of the Week on Oct. 17, she was a member of the all-tournament team at all three of CSU's early-season tourneys.

The Sunbury, Ohio native finished her three-year career ranked ninth in school history with 1,025 kills and sixth with 351 blocks.

Kennedy was the only league player on the 12-person team, although UW-Milwaukee's Sarah Moore did earn an honorable mention nod. The members of the eight all-region teams move on to appear on the AVCA All-America ballot. The Midwest Region is comprised of schools from Conference USA, the Horizon League, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Cleveland State recently completed its best season in over two decades, posting a 19-10 overall record while finishing second in the Horizon League with a school-record 11-3 mark.

ACVA All-Midwest Region Team
Kelly-Anne Billingy Marshall OH So.
Abbey Breit Jacksonville State MB So.
Jaci Gonzalez Houston DS/L Sr.
Liz Guard Eastern Kentucky MB Sr.
Nickole Kennedy Cleveland State RS/OPP Sr.
Olaya Pazo Rice OH Sr.
Sara Radosevic Tulane OH Fr.
Kariny Ritter Houston OH Sr.
Becca Sartori Houston MB Jr.
Julia Silva Tulsa S So.
Kari Stacy Texas at El Paso OH Sr.
Katie Stein Marshall S Sr.

Region Freshman of the Year: Sara Radosevic Tulane, OH
Honorable Mention: Ivana Bozic (UAB, OH, Fr.), Kristina Hoban (Rice, S, Sr.), Tessa Kuykendall (Rice, MB, Jr.), Sarah Moore (Wisconsin-Milwaukee, MB, Jr.), Brooke Peugh (Texas-El Paso, MB, Fr.), Nickie Sanlin (Marshall, MB, Sr.)