University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Benorden Named To Preseason All-BSC Team
08.04.2010 | Women's Volleyball
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- UNC Asheville's Kelsey Benorden added yet another laurel to her impressive resume as she was named to the Big South Conference's annual preseason All-Big South volleyball team, it was announced today by the League office. The 2009 BSC regular season champion Bulldogs were also picked to finish fifth in the BSC's annual preseason poll, as voted by the League's head volleyball coaches.
Benorden, a three-time All-BSC selection, is a native of Knoxville, Tenn. This marks the second consecutive year that she has been named to the preseason All-Conference team, having earned the honor in 2009.
Coastal Carolina's volleyball team has been chosen first in the poll while the coaches voted the Chanticleers' Chelsy Kimes the League's Preseason Player of the Year. Coastal Carolina, under the direction of 12th-year head coach Kristen Bauer, was picked to win its second-straight Big South title as it garnered four first-place votes and 74 points.
The Chanticleers finished ahead of Liberty in the poll as the Lady Flames notched two top bids and 71 points in the voting. In third-place was Winthrop with two No. 1 votes and 64 points. High Point landed in the fourth position as it collected one top nod and 51 points. Asheville was with 44 points, followed by Charleston Southern with 36 points and Presbyterian College with 32 points. Gardner-Webb was selected to finish eighth as it totaled 20 points and rounding out the list was Radford with 13 points.
Kimes, a senior from Munster, Ind., was named the 2009 Big South Volleyball Championship MVP after guiding Coastal Carolina to its first Big South Championship since 1998. A 2009 All-Big South First Team honoree, she led her squad with 483 kills, averaging 3.72 kills per set. She also topped her squad with 38 aces. She posted 28 double-digit kill matches a season ago, including a string of 17-straight matches with more than 10 kills. Kimes also closed the season out tied for second-place in the League with 17 double-doubles.
Joining Kimes on the Preseason All-Big South team are teammate Megan Bickford, Amanda Hill of Charleston Southern, Liberty's Karyl Bacon, Winthrop's Kaley Viola and Julie Hershkowitz of High Point.
The 2010 Big South volleyball season begins Friday, August 27, with nine matches scheduled. The women's volleyball Conference Championship is slated for Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 18-20 on the campus of Winthrop University.
