Abby Bottomley
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Volleyball's Abby Bottomley Named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American
12/15/2021 11:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Bottomley becomes Creighton Volleyball's First Player Named to First Team
OMAHA, Neb. -- Senior libero Abby Bottomley has become the first player in Creighton Volleyball history to be named a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Bottomley is the 12th student-athlete across all Bluejay sports to be named a First Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA. Creighton's other past First Team CoSIDA Academic All-Americans include Rick Apke (men's basketball; 1978), Jean Tierney (softball; 1983), Christy Lunceford (softball; 1997), Heidi Geier (softball; 1999), Christine Fukumoto (softball; 2005), Brian Holt (men's soccer; 2011), Fabian Herbers (men's soccer; 2015), Tyler Clement (men's basketball; 2018), Sam Crowley (softball; 2018) and Sven Koenig (men's soccer, 2018) and Nick Monkemeyer (men's cross country, 2019).
A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District choice, Bottomley is recognized for the second consecutive season as a CoSIDA Academic All-American, having also been a Second Team selection for 2020-21 while a student-athlete at High Point University. That makes her one of nine repeat selections across the three teams that were announced on Wednesday.
A native of Virginia Beach, Va., Bottomley owned a 3.89 as an undergrad while studying Finance & Marketing at High Point, and has a perfect 4.00 GPA in Business Analytics in grad school at Creighton. In her lone season as a Bluejay, she ranked second in the BIG EAST and 36th nationally with 4.85 digs per set and was also 4th in the BIG EAST in aces per set. She is a five-time All-Conference selection, including All-BIG EAST acclaim this fall. The fifth-year senior finished her career with 2,711 digs, good for seventh in NCAA history.
Bottomley helped Creighton earn the No. 14 national seed and finish with a 31-4 overall record. The Bluejays finished the fall by winning its seventh BIG EAST Tournament title in the past eight seasons in addition to capturing its eighth consecutive regular-season BIG EAST title.
The only previous volleyball CoSIDA Academic All-American honorees have been Second Team picks Megan Bober (2012) and Jaali Winters (2018), as well as Third Team selections Emily Greisch (2006), Winters (2017), Taryn Kloth (2018) and Brittany Witt (2019). Creighton owns 45 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in school history, who have combined to earn 56 honors.
The 2021-22 Academic All-America® Volleyball Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program separately recognizes volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. For more information about the Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit the Academic All-America® home page on CoSIDA.com.
2021 Academic All-America ® Volleyball Team NCAA Division I
FIRST TEAM
Name                                        School                                                        Yr.       GPA          Major
Abby Bottomley (2)                  Creighton University                                   Gr.       3.89/4.00   Finance & Marketing (UG) / Business Analytics (G)
Rylee Cookerly (2)                   Valparaiso University                                 Gr.       3.96           Nursing (UG) / Doctor of Nursing Practice (G)
Kennedy Eschenberg (3)        Brigham Young University                         Gr.       3.87           Post-Baccalaureate Studies
Serena Gray                            University of Pittsburgh                              Gr.       3.95           Psychology (UG) / Applied Dev. Psychology (G)
Sydney Hilley (1) (4)                University of Wisconsin                              Gr.       3.79/4.00   Genetics & Genomics / Applied Biotechnology
Iman Isanovic                           Arizona State University                             Jr.        4.00           Political Science
Kenzie Koerber                        Brigham Young University                         Gr.       4.00           Post-Baccalaureate Studies
Mackenzie May (2)                  UCLA                                                          Gr.       3.41/4.00   Sociology (UG) / Transformative Coaching and Leadership (G)
McKenna Melville (2)               UCF                                                             Sr.        3.94           Finance
Avery Skinner (1)                     Baylor University                                        Gr.       3.91/4.00   Comm. Studies / Disorders, Early Childhood Edu. (UG) / Speech Path. (G)
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SECOND TEAM
Name                                        School                                                        Yr.       GPA          Major
Ava Bell                                    University of Tennessee                             Sr.        3.97           Political Science
Diana Brown                             University of Illinois                                     Sr.        4.00           Molecular & Cellular Biology
Sadie Limback                         University of Nebraska Omaha                 Sr.        4.00           Kinesiology
Hannah Thompson (3)            Bradley University                                      Sr.        4.00           Health Science
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THIRD TEAM
Name                                        School                                                        Yr.       GPA          Major
KJ Adams                                 Texas Tech University                               Gr.       4.00/4.00                                                  Interdisciplinary Studies
Logan Eggleston (2)                University of Texas                                     Gr.       3.58                                                  Management
Hanna Laube                            Bowling Green State University                 Sr.        4.00           History
Olivia Lohmeier                        Morehead State University                        Gr.       3.89/4.00   Information Systems (UG) / Engineering Tech. (G)
Kayla Lund                               University of Pittsburgh                              Gr.       3.46/4.00   Comm. & Psychology (UG) / Applied Dev. Psychology (G)
Kayla White                              UNCG                                                         Gr.       3.95           Human Performance and Sport (UG) / MBA (G)
Lacey Zerwas                           West Virginia University                             Sr.        4.00                                                  Management
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CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year:  Kenzie Koerber, Brigham Young University
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(1) = 2020-21 1st team Academic All-America®
(2) = 2020-21 2nd team Academic All-America®
(3) = 2020-21 3rd team Academic All-America®
(4) = 2019-20 1st team Academic All-America®
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Bottomley is the 12th student-athlete across all Bluejay sports to be named a First Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA. Creighton's other past First Team CoSIDA Academic All-Americans include Rick Apke (men's basketball; 1978), Jean Tierney (softball; 1983), Christy Lunceford (softball; 1997), Heidi Geier (softball; 1999), Christine Fukumoto (softball; 2005), Brian Holt (men's soccer; 2011), Fabian Herbers (men's soccer; 2015), Tyler Clement (men's basketball; 2018), Sam Crowley (softball; 2018) and Sven Koenig (men's soccer, 2018) and Nick Monkemeyer (men's cross country, 2019).
A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District choice, Bottomley is recognized for the second consecutive season as a CoSIDA Academic All-American, having also been a Second Team selection for 2020-21 while a student-athlete at High Point University. That makes her one of nine repeat selections across the three teams that were announced on Wednesday.
A native of Virginia Beach, Va., Bottomley owned a 3.89 as an undergrad while studying Finance & Marketing at High Point, and has a perfect 4.00 GPA in Business Analytics in grad school at Creighton. In her lone season as a Bluejay, she ranked second in the BIG EAST and 36th nationally with 4.85 digs per set and was also 4th in the BIG EAST in aces per set. She is a five-time All-Conference selection, including All-BIG EAST acclaim this fall. The fifth-year senior finished her career with 2,711 digs, good for seventh in NCAA history.
Bottomley helped Creighton earn the No. 14 national seed and finish with a 31-4 overall record. The Bluejays finished the fall by winning its seventh BIG EAST Tournament title in the past eight seasons in addition to capturing its eighth consecutive regular-season BIG EAST title.
The only previous volleyball CoSIDA Academic All-American honorees have been Second Team picks Megan Bober (2012) and Jaali Winters (2018), as well as Third Team selections Emily Greisch (2006), Winters (2017), Taryn Kloth (2018) and Brittany Witt (2019). Creighton owns 45 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in school history, who have combined to earn 56 honors.
The 2021-22 Academic All-America® Volleyball Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program separately recognizes volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. For more information about the Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit the Academic All-America® home page on CoSIDA.com.
2021 Academic All-America ® Volleyball Team NCAA Division I
FIRST TEAM
Name                                        School                                                        Yr.       GPA          Major
Abby Bottomley (2)                  Creighton University                                   Gr.       3.89/4.00   Finance & Marketing (UG) / Business Analytics (G)
Rylee Cookerly (2)                   Valparaiso University                                 Gr.       3.96           Nursing (UG) / Doctor of Nursing Practice (G)
Kennedy Eschenberg (3)        Brigham Young University                         Gr.       3.87           Post-Baccalaureate Studies
Serena Gray                            University of Pittsburgh                              Gr.       3.95           Psychology (UG) / Applied Dev. Psychology (G)
Sydney Hilley (1) (4)                University of Wisconsin                              Gr.       3.79/4.00   Genetics & Genomics / Applied Biotechnology
Iman Isanovic                           Arizona State University                             Jr.        4.00           Political Science
Kenzie Koerber                        Brigham Young University                         Gr.       4.00           Post-Baccalaureate Studies
Mackenzie May (2)                  UCLA                                                          Gr.       3.41/4.00   Sociology (UG) / Transformative Coaching and Leadership (G)
McKenna Melville (2)               UCF                                                             Sr.        3.94           Finance
Avery Skinner (1)                     Baylor University                                        Gr.       3.91/4.00   Comm. Studies / Disorders, Early Childhood Edu. (UG) / Speech Path. (G)
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SECOND TEAM
Name                                        School                                                        Yr.       GPA          Major
Ava Bell                                    University of Tennessee                             Sr.        3.97           Political Science
Diana Brown                             University of Illinois                                     Sr.        4.00           Molecular & Cellular Biology
Sadie Limback                         University of Nebraska Omaha                 Sr.        4.00           Kinesiology
Hannah Thompson (3)            Bradley University                                      Sr.        4.00           Health Science
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THIRD TEAM
Name                                        School                                                        Yr.       GPA          Major
KJ Adams                                 Texas Tech University                               Gr.       4.00/4.00                                                  Interdisciplinary Studies
Logan Eggleston (2)                University of Texas                                     Gr.       3.58                                                  Management
Hanna Laube                            Bowling Green State University                 Sr.        4.00           History
Olivia Lohmeier                        Morehead State University                        Gr.       3.89/4.00   Information Systems (UG) / Engineering Tech. (G)
Kayla Lund                               University of Pittsburgh                              Gr.       3.46/4.00   Comm. & Psychology (UG) / Applied Dev. Psychology (G)
Kayla White                              UNCG                                                         Gr.       3.95           Human Performance and Sport (UG) / MBA (G)
Lacey Zerwas                           West Virginia University                             Sr.        4.00                                                  Management
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CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year:  Kenzie Koerber, Brigham Young University
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(1) = 2020-21 1st team Academic All-America®
(2) = 2020-21 2nd team Academic All-America®
(3) = 2020-21 3rd team Academic All-America®
(4) = 2019-20 1st team Academic All-America®
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Players Mentioned
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