CCU

Volleyball Gets All-Conference, All-Freshman Honors

       

Volleyball Gets All-Conference, All-Freshman Honors

LYNCHBURG, VA -- Coastal Carolina University's volleyball team had one player named All-Conference and two selected to the All-Freshman Team, the Big South announced at its annual volleyball banquet on Nov. 14 in Lynchburg, Va. Freshman Megan Bickford (Olathe, Kan./Olathe South) received First Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team honors. Meanwhile, classmate Chelsy Kimes (Munster, Ind./Munster) was selected to the All-Freshman Team.

Bickford is the first Lady Chanticleer to receive both First Team and All-Freshman selections and is just the third Lady Chanticleer since 1988 to earn First Team honors in her first season. Bickford joins the ranks of Roberta Croteau and Coastal's all-time kills and kills per game leader Katherine Jensen-Spencer as those that receive First Team All-Conference in their first season.

Bickford spent much of the season leading the Big South in hitting percentage, remaining on top of the category for nine-consecutive weeks. She leads Coastal and ranks second in the Big South with a .336 hitting percentage, converting on 304 kills off 654 total attacks and only committing 84 errors. She has hit over .500 in six different matches, including a career-best .684 against Buffalo. Bickford also has a team-leading 108 total blocks (12 solo, 96 block assist). She was selected a Big South New Balance Freshman of the Week on Sept. 10 after hitting .438 and tallying 41 kills at the Comfort Suites 49ers Volleyball Classic. Bickford was also named to three different All-Tournament teams at the beginning of the season.

Kimes currently leads Coastal with a 3.48 kills per game average and has 354 kills on the season. She is second on the team with 34 service aces. Kimes has a team-leading 10 double-doubles on the season. She has registered a career-best 21 kills four times during the season, including in Coastal's regular season finale victory at Charleston Southern. Kimes was a three-time Big South New Balance Freshman of the Week selection, including back-to-back weeks Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 and most recently Nov. 12.

Also announced at the banquet was the All-Academic Team. Sophomore Jill Nyhof (Alpharetta, Ga./Northview) was selected to the All-Academic Team. Nyhof maintains a 4.0 grade point average as a political science major. She was named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District III University Division Second Team presented by CoSIDA on Nov. 8. Nyhof has a team-best 383 kills. She was selected as Big South Choice Hotels Player of the Week on Sept. 10 after tallying 58 kills and hitting .304 at the Comfort Suites 49ers Volleyball Classic.

The Lady Chants open the 2007 Big South Conference Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Vines Center in Lynchubrg, Va. Fourth-seeded Coastal faces fifth-seeded Radford at 7 p.m. The winner of the match advances to Friday's semifinals and will play top-seeded Liberty at 7 p.m.