9/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Charlotte, N.C. - Coastal Carolina volleyball's Leah Hardeman has been named the Crons Brand Big South Conference Freshman of the Week for games played Sept. 22-28, the league announced today. It is the second straight week that Hardeman has been the conference's top-performing freshman, and the third time this season she has been awarded as such.
The Chanticleers went 1-1 last week, falling 3-1 to Winthrop in their conference opener before rebounding to post a 3-0 shutout of Presbyterian.
Hardeman finished with 29 total kills through the two matches, averaging 4.14 per set, including a career-high of 22 against Winthrop on Friday night. It was the second match this season that Hardeman broke the 20-kill plateau. Her 22 kills came on 45 attempts with just four errors, making her .400 hitting percentage the highest this season when registering over 20 attempts. Hardeman also tallied nine digs, a block and an assist against Winthrop.
The freshman from Clarkston, Ga., closed the weekend with seven kills, 12 digs, three solo blocks and an ace against Presbyterian on Saturday. Hardeman played a large role in closing out the match against the Blue Hose, recording back-to-back blocks midway through the third set before putting down consecutive kills to end the match.
Through 15 matches (57 sets), Hardeman leads the Chants in points with 253 and kills with 217.
Moreover, the freshman's 4.44 points per set is best among all Big South players. She additionally ranks second in the conference in kills per set (3.81), sixth in aces per set (0.33) and is ninth in hitting percentage (.274) despite having attempted the third most attacks of all conference players.
Hardeman and the Chants play their first of three straight away conference matches this Friday when they travel to High Point to take on the Panthers in a 7 pm match. The match will be streamed for free on the Big South Network.
W. Volleyball. Hardeman Repeats as Big South Freshman of the Week: Coastal Carolina volleyball's Leah Hardeman... http://t.co/uplxGl7i4r
- CCU Chanticleers (@GoCCUsports) September 29, 2014
