12/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Junior Leah Hardeman and senior Annayka Legros of the Coastal Carolina volleyball team were named to the AVCA South Region team, it was announced this week. It is the second consecutive AVCA All-Region honor for Hardeman ââ'¬" who became the first Chanticleer in program history to earn the distinction in 2015 ââ'¬" and first for Legros.
The two Chanticleers are among 14 student-athletes honored from the South Region, which includes such schools as Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Auburn and Alabama. The South Region also included six honorable mention recipients.
Hardeman was named the 2016 Sun Belt Player of the Year, marking the third straight season that she won a conference's top individual award after taking Player of the Year honors in the Big South in 2014 and 2015. The junior led Coastal to the 2016 Sun Belt Championship, averaging 4.27 kills, 1.36 and 0.45 blocks per set in tournament play to earn the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award. She helped Coastal win its first ever NCAA Tournament match against James Madison in this year's opening round, and put down a match-high 25 kills against #7 North Carolina in the second round.
Earlier this year, Hardeman became the 11th Chanticleer in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills and currently sits in fifth place all-time in Coastal history with 1,315.
Legros was a first team All-Sun Belt selection in 2016 as she led the conference in hitting percentage while ranking seventh in both kills and blocks per set. Her .408 hitting percentage to close the regular season was 13th among all NCAA DI players, and ranks second on Coastal's all-time single season list. The senior was named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team as she helped Coastal to its first championship in the conference, and her team-leading 19 kills against JMU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament led CCU to its first ever tournament win.
Legros finished her senior year with a .333 career hitting percentage to rank second on Coastal's all-time career list.
