Thelen Named Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
10/2/2018 10:28:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. – Senior Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) was one of only 30 student-athletes nationwide to be named a candidate for the 2018 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate volleyball.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
A First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2017, Thelen has led the Pirates in kills and kills per set in each of the last two seasons. Often playing all six rotations, she has been a primary offensive weapon since arriving in South Orange prior to the 2015 season. Her 430 kills last season ranked fourth in the BIG EAST Conference and are the most by a Pirate since 2014. Thelen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll a team-high four times, and she was named to the All-Tournament Team at three early season tournaments, the Oklahoma Nike Invitational, Seton Hall Classic and Redbird Classic.
This season, Thelen was named to the 2018 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team and is again leading the Pirates, and ranks third in the BIG EAST Conference with 232 kills and 3.62 kills per set. She has tallied at least 15 kills in a single match a team-best six times and was named to the Blue & White Classic and Seton Hall Classic All-Tournament Teams. Career-wise, only five players in Seton Hall history have recorded more kills, and only four have had more attacks.
A Business Finance major, Thelen is a two-time Academic All-BIG EAST selection and a two-time Seton Hall Dean's List member. She was Seton Hall's candidate last year for a BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Excellence Award in 2017. A team leader, she is highly active on campus and in the local community often participating in the "Reading with the Pirates" program and collecting food for needy families during Seton Hall's "Thanksgiving Basket Drive." Thelen is also a volleyball clinic coach, and also aids in a "Christmas Gift Donation" in which, along with family members, she adopts a family for Christmas.
Thelen is one of only three BIG EAST volleyball players among the 30 candidates.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
A First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2017, Thelen has led the Pirates in kills and kills per set in each of the last two seasons. Often playing all six rotations, she has been a primary offensive weapon since arriving in South Orange prior to the 2015 season. Her 430 kills last season ranked fourth in the BIG EAST Conference and are the most by a Pirate since 2014. Thelen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll a team-high four times, and she was named to the All-Tournament Team at three early season tournaments, the Oklahoma Nike Invitational, Seton Hall Classic and Redbird Classic.
This season, Thelen was named to the 2018 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team and is again leading the Pirates, and ranks third in the BIG EAST Conference with 232 kills and 3.62 kills per set. She has tallied at least 15 kills in a single match a team-best six times and was named to the Blue & White Classic and Seton Hall Classic All-Tournament Teams. Career-wise, only five players in Seton Hall history have recorded more kills, and only four have had more attacks.
A Business Finance major, Thelen is a two-time Academic All-BIG EAST selection and a two-time Seton Hall Dean's List member. She was Seton Hall's candidate last year for a BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Excellence Award in 2017. A team leader, she is highly active on campus and in the local community often participating in the "Reading with the Pirates" program and collecting food for needy families during Seton Hall's "Thanksgiving Basket Drive." Thelen is also a volleyball clinic coach, and also aids in a "Christmas Gift Donation" in which, along with family members, she adopts a family for Christmas.
Thelen is one of only three BIG EAST volleyball players among the 30 candidates.
Players Mentioned
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