IRVING, Texas – Conference USA has named the 2016 C-USA Volleyball individual superlative award winners, as chosen by a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches. WKU led the pack with three individual honors, while Marshall and Southern Miss rounded out the list with one award each.
For the first time in its brief C-USA history, a WKU student-athlete was named the C-USA Player of the Year. Junior Alyssa Cavanaugh claims the honor as the league’s top player after posting an incredible offensive season. The Louisville, Kentucky, native led C-USA in kills this season with 444, the most of any season in her collegiate career. Cavanaugh also stood out nationally as her .338 hitting percentage topped all NCAA volleyball players who had 900 or more attacks this season. Cavanaugh, a first-team All-Conference selection, helped lead WKU to its third straight regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the C-USA Championship
The Lady Toppers became only the fourth team in C-USA history to finish with an undefeated league record, which can be directly attributed to this year’s Coach of the Year, Travis Hudson. Earlier this season, the man at the helm notched his 550th career win along with his 250th conference victory. The WKU volleyball program ended the 2016 regular season with its 45th-straight conference win at home in Diddle Arena. This marks Hudson’s 20th winning season in his career and his 18th with 20 or more victories.
Rounding out WKU’s portion of awards is setter Jessica Lucas. The Seymour, Indiana, native garnered C-USA Setter of the Year accolades for the second straight season. Lucas averaged 11.49 assists per set during the 2016 campaign, which ranks first among C-USA leaders and eighth nationally. The junior paced WKU to a league-best .308 hitting percentage while hitting at a .392 clip herself. Lucas set a C-USA single-season record with seven Setter of the Week awards this season.
On the defensive side of the ball, Marshall’s Allie Kellerman was voted the C-USA Libero of the Year. As a first-time all-conference selection, Kellerman did not disappoint this season, tallying 482 total digs, ranking second among C-USA leaders. The Louisville, Kentucky, native recorded the fourth most digs among C-USA in a single match this season when she put up 31 in a five-set victory over Charlotte. Kellerman added a team-high 29 service aces and is currently six digs short of second place in the Thundering Herd record books.
Wrapping up the individual accolades is Southern Miss standout and the C-USA Freshman of the Year, Catherine Repsher. The rookie hardly showed any signs of inexperience this season as she finished second among C-USA leaders in blocks with 100 during the regular season. Repsher also earned four C-USA Freshman of the Week awards this season, marking the most by a single player in the award’s history.
2016 Conference USA Volleyball Individual Awards
Player of the Year
Alyssa Cavanaugh, WKU
Setter of the Year
Jessica Lucas, WKU
Libero of the Year
Allie Kellerman, Marshall
Freshman of the Year
Catherine Repsher, Southern Miss
Coach of the Year
Travis Hudson, WKU
News courtesy of Conference USA.
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