Pepperdine Volleyball's Hill Named All-American

The following is an edited release from Pepperdine Sports Information:

After perhaps one of the most successful seasons in Pepperdine University women's volleyball history, senior Kim Hill was honored as a First Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Sophomore Kellie Woolever earned a spot on the honorable mention list. 

Hill and the other first-, second- and third-team honorees will be recognized by the AVCA at the All-America/Player of the Year Banquet on Friday afternoon, when the Division I AVCA National Player of the Year will also be announced. In addition, the award winners will be recognized during the NCAA Championship title match, which will be broadcasted on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Hill is just the second student-athlete in program history to earn first-team distinction and just the fifth Wave overall to be honored as an AVCA All-American.

Woolever joins Hill as an AVCA All-American honorable mention, marking the only year Pepperdine has placed more than one student-athlete on the prestigious list.

Prior to the 2011 season, Hill was twice named to the honorable mention squad, first in 2009 and again in 2010. Other former Pepperdine women's volleyball players to be named AVCA All-Americans include Katie Wilkins (Second Team: 2001, 2002; First Team: 2003), Julie Rubenstein (Third Team: 2008) and Jamie Hill (Second Team: 1999).

Hill, who was named the 2011 West Coast Conference Player of the Year, led the Waves to a 25-7 overall record. Pepperdine won the WCC title and advanced to .

The opposite side hitter paced Pepperdine with 3.93 kill/set earned on a .289 hitting percentage. During the postseason, she amped up her performance with 4.21 kills/set.

Hill has racked up a long list of accolades this season. She earned AVCA All-Pacific Region first team honors, was voted WCC Player of the Month twice, picked up WCC Player of the Week a season-best four times, is a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS award and is a WCC All-Academic first team selection.

The senior leaves the indoor court with her named inked in several spots in the Pepperdine record book. She ranks No. 6 all-time with 1,300 kills and a .322 hitting percentage and is tied for third with 376 blocks.

Hill tallied 472 kills during her senior campaign—a statistic that ranks as the fourth most by a Wave in a single season during the rally scoring era.

In her 115 matches wearing the blue and orange, Hill eclipsed double-digit kill totals on 71 occasions and reached the 20 kill milestone eight times.

Woolever, only in her second year as the starting setter for the Waves, had a standout season in 2011. She quarterbacked the offense with 11.22 assists/set which led to a .253 team hitting percentage. The southpaw nailed down 1.18 kill/set herself to bring Pepperdine’s team kills average to 14.45.

In addition to her offensive duties, Woolever was one of the Waves’ most sound defensive players this season. She averaged 3.11 digs/set and provided 0.65 blocks/set at the net. In the final match of the season, Woolever picked up a career-high 26 digs.

Woolever was recognized for her performance on several occasions this year. She was tabbed an AVCA All-Pacific Region honorable mention, an All-WCC first team honoree and was voted WCC Player of the Week after leading the Waves to back-to-back victories versus Loyola Marymount and BYU.

Two additional WCC student-athletes picked up AVCA All-American honors this season. San Diego’s Chloe Ferrari and Jennifer Hamson of BYU both earned a spot on the honorable mention squad.

Although Hill and Woolever's indoor volleyball campaign has come to a close, the duo will continue competing for Pepperdine at a different venue this spring when the Waves embark on the inaugural season of NCAA sand volleyball.