CCU

Four Volleyball Chanticleers Earn All-Conference Honors

Jill Nyhof, Sierra Livesay, Chelsy Kimes and Megan Bickford were all honored.

       

Sierra Livesay was named Big South Freshman of the Year.

Sierra Livesay was named Big South Freshman of the Year.

Nov. 18, 2009

GALLERY

RADFORD, Va. - The Coastal Carolina University volleyball team took home two of the top awards and had four players earn Big South Conference honors for their play in the regular season, announced the awards ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 18 prior to the Big South Tournament.

Senior middle blocker Jill Nyhof was named the 2009 Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row and teammate Sierra Livesay was named the 2009 Big South Freshman of the Year. Junior Chelsy Kimes earned First Team All-Big South honors and junior Megan Bickford earned Second Team honors.

Nyhof, who has a 4.0 grade-point average in political science, has played and started in every match except one this season and has been a huge contributor at the net. She is a two-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2008 and 2009 and an ESPN The Magazine First Team Academic All-District selection in 2008 and 2009 and Second Team honoree in 2007. She ranks second in Coastal Carolina history in career block assists with 312 and total blocks with 422 and had a career-high 13 blocks against Dayton in the first match of the season on Aug. 29. She is a two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week and leads the Big South in blocks, averaging 1.28 blocks per set, having been ranked as high as second in the NCAA in blocks per set. Nyhof also earns her third All-Big South Academic Team honor.

Livesay has played in 28 matches and started 27 for the Chanticleers this season. She ranks second on the team in kills, averaging 2.44 kills per set, and ranks third in digs at 2.18 digs per set. She had a career-high 18 kills against Gardner-Webb Oct. 16 and is a two-time Big South Freshman of the Week honoree.

Kimes remains a lethal threat for the Chanticleers in the Big South, averaging 3.70 kills per set, leading the Chants and ranking fourth in the league. She enters the tournament sixth in the Coastal Carolina record book with 1,264 career kills and has had 25 double-digit kill matches, including 14 double-digit kill performances in a row this season. She also has had 15 double-doubles and the Chants are 11-4 when Kimes records a double-double. Kimes earns her second straight First Team All-Big South honor and was a Big South All-Freshman Team selection in 2007.

Bickford has been a consistent contributor all season for the Chanticleers, starting in every match this season. She has had the top hitting percentage on the team for the past three years, and ranks fifth in the Big South in the category this year with a .322 hitting percentage. She also ranks third on the team in kills per set at 2.30 and earned Big South Player of the Week honors Oct. 19. Bickford was an All-Big South Tournament team selection last season and a 2008 First Team All-Big South and an All-Freshman Team honoree in 2007.

In other Big South Awards, Winthrop's Kelley Taylor was named Player of the Year and UNC Asheville's Julie Torbett was Coach of the Year.

No. 4-seed Coastal Carolina will open the 2009 Big South Tournament Thursday, Nov. 19 against No. 5 High Point. The match is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at the Dedmon Center in Radford.