Marshall University Athletics
@HerdVolleyball Earns Six All-Conference USA Honors
11/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
IRVING, Texas - Five members of the Marshall volleyball team received All-Conference honors Wednesday afternoon as the league named seniors Allie Kellerman and Ally Kiekover to the First-Team All-C-USA, while freshman Madison Hill was named a Second-Team All-Conference honoree. Madelyn Cole, Jac'cara Walker and Hill were selected to the league's All-Freshmen team.
The five honorees is the most the Thundering Herd has had in a single season since joining Conference USA in 2005. Marshall's previous high was four, occurring in its first three season in C-USA (2005-2007). The Herd joins WKU, Southern Miss and Rice with five honorees on the All-Conference and All-Freshman teams.
Kellerman, a four-time defensive player of the week this season, earned her first all-conference honor of her career. The Louisville, Ky., native ranks second in C-USA for total digs with 482 and is third for digs per set with 4.50 this season. Kellerman holds the second spot for digs in league matches with 233 digs. The senior had a season-high 31 digs at Charlotte (Nov. 6). Kellerman is also a threat on the service line, as she has a team-high 29 aces. Kellerman currently ranks third all-time for digs with 1,656, only six digs shy of second place. She holds three spots in the top 10 for digs in a single season, including this season with 482, which is good for sixth. She holds the top spot with 555 digs as a junior and ninth with 450 as a sophomore.
Kiekover will cap off her career at Marshall with her third consecutive all-conference honor. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native was a second team selection as a sophomore and a first team selection as a junior. Earlier this season, Kiekover became the eighth Herd student-athlete to record 1,000 kills in her career. She ranks third on the team with 233 kills and holds a .351 hitting percentage. She is also third in league matches with 121 kills at a .316 clip. Kiekover had a career-high .714 hitting percentage this season at Bowling Green (Sept. 7) and a season-best 17 kills at Charlotte (Nov. 6). The senior leads the Herd in blocks in C-USA matches with 40. In her career, Kiekover currently ranks third for hitting percentage (.323), seventh for block assists (238) and total blocks (296), eighth for solo blocks (53) and kills (1,140).
Hill has been a force in the middle for the Thundering Herd this season as she earns All-C-USA second team and All-Freshman honors. Hill ranks fourth in the NCAA and first in C-USA with a .432 hitting percentage this season. The Rockwall, Texas, native is first on the team in blocks with 76 and fourth with 227 kills. In league matches, Hill has 107 kills at a .409 clip, and 34 blocks. She has recorded a career-high 13 kills four times this season and had an impressive .833 hitting percentage against Jacksonville (Sept. 16). She had a season-best 19 points against FIU (Oct. 11) with 13 kills and eight total blocks. Hill has been named C-USA Freshman of the Week twice this season and was selected to the Indiana Invitational all-tournament team.
Cole became the first player ever in Conference USA history to earn two awards in one week (setter and freshman of the week) earlier this season. Cole leads the Thundering Herd in assists with 732 in all matches, while recording 444 in conference matches. She has averaged 8.54 assists per set in league matches. The Dallas native recorded a league-high 61 assists and a career-high 20 digs at Charlotte (Nov. 6). On offense, Cole had a season-best 10 kills at a .562 clip and 12 points against in-state rival West Virginia (Sept. 2). She has nine double-doubles this season and is second on the team for aces (22) and third for digs (224) and blocks (44). She has been named C-USA Freshman of the Week twice this season.
Walker has been one of Marshall's primary outside hitters this season as she earns a spot on the All-Freshman team. She is tied for first on the team with 367 points, while being second for kills with 329. She is tied for second on the Herd with 22 aces and fifth for blocks with 29. The Gainesville, Fla., native ranks 10th in Conference USA averaging 3.29 kills per set. Walker had the seventh-best performance in a league match this season against UTSA (Oct. 9) with 22 kills. She had a career-best .560 hitting percentage against FIU (Oct. 11) with 14 kills. Walker also had an impressive 11 kills against her hometown team No. 7 Florida Gators (Sept. 17). She was selected to the West Virginia Capital Classic all-tournament team and named the Toledo/ASICS Invitational MVP. She has been named C-USA Freshman of the Week twice this season.
Up next, three-seeded Marshall begins the 2016 Conference USA Championship on Friday against the sixth-seeded Rice Owls at 6 p.m. (ET).
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Abbi Reid, Florida Atlantic
Maja Ristic, Florida Atlantic
Allie Kellerman, Marshall
Ally Kiekover, Marshall
Amanda Chamberlain, North Texas
Holly Milam, North Texas
Sarah Bell, Southern Miss
Stephany Purdue, Southern Miss
Chelsey Harris, Rice
Madison McDaniel, Rice
Dajana Boskovic, UTSA
Rachel Anderson, WKU
Alyssa Cavanaugh, WKU
Jessica Lucas, WKU
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Katie Hogan, FIU
Madison Hill, Marshall
Leah Mikesky, Rice
Portia Okafor, Rice
Kylie Grandy, Southern Miss
Chanel Joyce, Southern Miss
Catherine Repsher, Southern Miss
Lindsey Larson, UTEP
Sarah Villa, UTEP
Marijeta Runjic, UTSA
Sydney Engle, WKU
Georgia O'Connell, WKU
ALL-FRESHMAN
Sigourney Kame, Florida Atlantic
Madelyn Cole, Marshall
Madison Hill, Marshall
Jac'cara Walker, Marshall
Emma Eakin, North Texas
Lee Ann Cunningham, Rice
Catherine Repsher, Southern Miss
Macey Austin, UTEP
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