USA South 2012 Volleyball Awards Announced

(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its 2012 All-Conference awards for volleyball. A total of 36 student-athletes have been named to the All-Conference teams. Christopher Newport University's Bailey Jensen was named the Player of the Year, her teammate Abby Hogge earned Libero of the Year honors while their coach Lindsay Birch collected Coach of the Year accolades. Greensboro College's Olivia Gough collected Rookie of the Year honors to round out the individual awards. Also, the USA South recognized an All-Sportsmanship Team consisting of one member from each competing school.

All awards are voted on by the volleyball coach at each institution.

Jensen, a senior middle blocker from Ashburn, Virginia led the Conference during the regular season with a .394 hitting percentage and averaged a league-high 1.17 blocks per set to go along with 3.13 kills and 1.02 digs per set. During league matches only, Jensen's .479 hitting percentage was the best in the USA South by over 100 percentage points. Additionally, her 1.12 blocks and 4.2 points per set in Conference matches ranked second in the league. She collects her fourth consecutive all-conference honor this fall as she was named First Team All-Conference for the third straight season after garnering second team accolades as a freshman. Finally, Jensen was named USA South Player of the Week three times this season.

Gough, a Hamptonville, North Carolina freshman outside hitter played an integral role for The Pride this season. For the year, she averaged 2.84 kills, 1.92 digs and 3.30 points per set. Her kill and point per set averages currently rank tenth and 12th in the league, respectfully. In Conference-only matches this fall, Gough ranked in the top-ten in both the kill and point per set categories. For her efforts this season, Gough received Honorable Mention All-Conference honors.

Hogge, a Clifton, Virginia senior becomes the first USA South volleyball student-athlete to be named Libero of the Year three consecutive seasons. She is the Captains' defensive specialist and averaged 4.58 digs per set which ranked sixth in the league during the regular season. Additionally, Hogge has compiled 517 total digs this fall which was good for fifth-best in the USA South and has recorded just 12 receptions errors. She earned Second Team All-Conference Honors this fall for the third consecutive year and was named USA South Defensive Player of the Week three times this season.

This season marks the seventh Coach of the Year honor for Birch. The Captains once again were undefeated in USA South play, compiling a perfect record, 11-0, for the fifth consecutive season. CNU has now won 109 consecutive regular season league matches dating back to the 2006 campaign. Overall, the Captains compiled a 33-2 regular season record and own a number-five national ranking. Birch now leads the Captains into the Conference tournament as the top seeded team.

Player of the Year	Rookie of the Year	Libero of the Year	Coach of the Year
Bailey Jensen Christopher Newport	Olivia Gough Greensboro	Abby Hogge Christopher Newport	Lindsay Birch Christopher Newport

The 2012 USA South Volleyball All-Conference Team: