LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Volleyball outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye is one of four finalists for the 2024 HONDA Award for volleyball, the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards announced Monday afternoon.
DeLeye, who was named the AVCA South Region Player of the Year and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year at the end of 2024, will be looking to become the second Kentucky Volleyball player to win the HONDA Award in the last five seasons. Madison Lilley won the award during Kentucky’s 2020 national championship-winning season.
🏆2024 NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALIST!!!!🏆
— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) December 17, 2024
🗣 BK!
🗣 BK!
🗣 BK!@AVCAVolleyball x @BrooklynDeleye pic.twitter.com/FE4QHRBsXl
The Topeka, Kansas sophomore averaged a team-leading 4.87 kills per set this season, with over 500 kills on the year, hitting .294. DeLeye, playing all six rotations, had 1.64 digs per set and led Kentucky with 56 aces, good enough for 0.51 aces per set. She accounted for 609.5 points of the Wildcats offense this season.
DeLeye joins Pitt’s Olivia Babcock, Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez, and Wisconsin’s Sarah Franklin as the four finalists for the award.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 49 years. It recognizes the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and symbolizes “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” The recipient of the sports award will become a finalist for the prestigious Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2025 Honda Cup, which will be presented during the live broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network in June.
The women’s volleyball finalists are determined by a panel of experts and coaches from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). The Honda Sport award winner for volleyball will be later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
The CWSA, now in its 49th year, celebrates the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their excellence in athletics, leadership, academics, and community service. Since its partnership began in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of award winners and nominees, supporting the growth and success of women’s athletics programs.
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