Edmond named one of last 10 remaining for national senior award
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas – Kentucky’s Leah Edmond was named one of 10 national finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award in volleyball, Premier Sports announced on Monday.
To be eligible for the prestigious award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates that started the season were narrowed 10 finalists midway through the regular season this past week, and those 10 names are now placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in December.
Leah Edmond’s Accolades
Classroom
Leah Edmond maintains a 3.151 GPA in the classroom with a major in elementary education and is on track to graduate on time with her undergraduate degree. She has been a three-time All-Southeastern Conference Academic Team member in addition making the SEC First-Year Honor Roll in her freshman campaign for the Wildcats.
Character
Edmond is always energetic on and off the floor and is the true representation of a leader, currently serving as a team captain. She wants to work with kids in her professional life, as she has chosen elementary education as a career path. She works closely with all members of the coaching and support staff to show off the UK Volleyball program in the best light possible, including making radio, television and other media appearances to promote season tickets.
Community
Edmond has more than 30 hours of community service in Lexington during her time as a Wildcat. She logged over 15 hours at the William Wells Brown Elementary School, and she has spent time with the Special Olympics and God’s Pantry Backpack program, which allows underprivileged kids to receive packed lunches during the school day. She also worked with a summer program that focuses on physical education and healthy eating while teaching volleyball lessons and helping make healthy snacks for campers.
Competition
Edmond has been an AVCA All-American her freshman (2016, third-team), sophomore (2017, first-team) and junior (2018, second-team) seasons. She was the 2018 SEC Player of the Year, helping lead UK to an undefeated season in the SEC and to back-to-back SEC championships. She also became the fastest player in program history to amass 1,000 career kills and the program’s all-time leader in the 25-point rally-scoring era in career kills and attempts. She was a first-team All-SEC selection in 2017 and 2018 and was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2016. She is a three-time SEC Player of the Week so far in 2019.
Volleyball Finalists
Allie Barber, Marquette
Leah Edmond, Kentucky
Ann Ernst, Loyola Maryland
Yumi Garcia, Charlotte
Jenna Gray, Stanford
Morgan Hentz, Stanford
Mary Lake, Brigham Young
Kathryn Plummer, Stanford
Shelly Stafford , Baylor
Micaya White, Texas
