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Jersey Number 19
Abby Bottomley
- Position:
- Defensive Specialist
- Height:
- 5-6
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- High School:
- Princess Anne
2021: Senior at Creighton
• Creighton Volleyball’s only First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history.
• Named an Honorable Mention All-American by VolleyballMag.com.
• All-BIG EAST Conference selection, the fifth time she’s been named an All-Conference pick in her career.
• BIG EAST ranks: 2nd in digs/set; 4th in aces/set.
• League play only ranks: 4th in digs/set; 4th in aces/set.
• NCAA ranks: 21st in digs; 28th in service aces, 35th in digs/set and 48th in aces/set.
• Finished career ranked seventh in NCAA history with 2,711 career digs.
• Creighton Volleyball’s first graduate transfer arrives on the Hilltop after a standout career at High Point University, where she was AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2020 and a Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
• Named Big South Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, Co-Woman of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year as well as earning a spot on Big South’s All-Decade Team.
• Led the Big South Conference in digs four times and aces her final two seasons, becoming second Big South player to be First Team All-Conference pick four times.
• Named to Bluegrass Battle All-Tournament Team after holding foes to .183 hitting.
• Named to Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 6.67 digs and 0.67 aces per set while holding foes to .085 hitting as she won a second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honor (9/20).
• Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 after averaging 6.00 digs per set in four matches from Sept. 8-11.
• Won third straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (9/27).
• Owned 28 digs in 3-1 win vs. Illinois (9/11).
• Produced season-high 31 digs and three aces at Butler (9/24).
• Had first double-double as a Bluejay with 19 digs and 11 assists vs. Marquette (10/10).
• Tied career-high with five aces vs. Georgetown (10/22).
• Became 17th woman in NCAA history to surpass 2,500 career digs when she did it in third set at UConn (10/16).
• Had 15 digs and three aces in 3-1 victory at Marquette (10/29).
• Had 26 digs, five assists and two aces in 3-1 win vs. Butler (11/7).
• Collected 19 digs and served two aces at Georgetown (11/12).
• Had 15 digs, eight assists and two aces in NCAA Tourney win vs. Ole Miss (Dec. 2).
• Closed career with 17 digs, seven assists and three aces vs. Kansas (Dec. 3).
• Had 10+ digs in first 16 matches as a Bluejay to stretch double-digit streak to 29 in a row before it ended.
2020: Senior at High Point
• Big South Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, Big South Co-Woman of the Year and Big South Female Athlete of the Year.
• Averaged 5.38 digs per set and topped Big South Conference in aces (28) for a second consecutive year.
• Became first player to lead Big South in digs in four straight seasons.
• Became second volleyball player in league history to be First Team All-Big South Conference in four straight seasons.
• AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and AVCA Southeast All-Region Team, as well as a VolleyballMag.com Fourth Team All-American.
• Second Team CoSIDA Academic
All-American and repeated as a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 choice.
• Ranked 23rd nationally in digs per set.
• Herr 6.75 digs per set in NCAA Tourney play ranked second-most in the field.
• Her 5.35 career digs per set are a Big South Conference record while her 2,158 digs ranked sixth-most in league history.
• Had a season-high 36 digs in NCAA Tournament victory vs. UCF (April 14).
• Became the sixth player in Big South history to surpass 2,000 career digs on March 19 vs. Charleston Southern in her 109th career match.
• Recorded a career-high five aces during win over Radford (Feb. 25).
• Had 36 digs in 3-2 win vs. UCF to help Panthers become first team in Big South history to win an NCAA Tourney match.
• Team started 17-0 under former Creighton assistant Ryan Meek before loss in Second Round of NCAA Tournament to Purdue.
• Three-time Big South Libero of the Week.
• Finished her season 27th in NCAA history (min. 1,500 digs) with 5.35 digs per set and just 634 shy of second-most digs in NCAA career history.
• High Point went 83-32 with three conference titles and three NCAA Tournament trips over the previous four seasons, with Bottomley collecting double-figure digs in 111-of-115 contests.
• Named a Millis Scholar Athlete for the fourth straight year as well as taking home the Tobias Scholar-Athlete Award.
• Won the Panther Cup as Team MVP.
2019: Junior at High Point
• Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year and First Team All-Big South.
• Led the conference in aces (43), digs (673) and digs per set (5.52).
• Ranked ninth nationally with 5.52 digs per set.
• Named to Big South Conference All-Decade Team in June of 2020.
• First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District 3.
• Named Big South Defensive Player of the Week six times, the most times any player has ever won the award in a single season.
• Had 30+ digs on four occasions, including a career-high 44 digs vs. Radford (Sept. 28).
• Served four service aces vs. both Wofford (Sept. 20) and Hampton (Oct. 4).
• Had 43 digs and a career-high 12 assists against Florida State (Nov. 2), her second career double-double.
• Owned double-digit digs in 33-of-34 contests.
2018: Sophomore at High Point
• Averaged 5.31 digs per set and added 23 aces.
• First Team All-Big South and four-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week.
• Ranked 27th nationally in digs per set.
• Recorded 42 digs at East Tennessee State (Oct. 9).
• Had 17 digs against Marquette in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 30).
• Collected 10+ digs in all 31 matches.
• Team won the Big South title with a 14-2 league mark under former Creighton assistant Tom Mendoza.
2017: Freshman at High Point
• Led the team and the Big South with 5.21 digs per set, and her 594 digs were a High Point freshman record.
• Became the fifth Panther to be named Big South Freshman of the Year and the first to be named First Team All-Big South in her first collegiate season.
• Two-time Big South Freshman of the Week in addition to being a four-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week.
• Ranked 28th nationally in digs per set.
• Dug a season-high 35 balls in four sets vs. Liberty (Sept. 19).
• Team went 16-0 to win the Big South regular-season title.
• Recorded 17 digs and an ace in the NCAA Tournament First Round match against Purdue (Nov. 30).
• Owned 10+ digs in 31-of-32 matches, including her first
24 contests.
Princess Anne High School
• Named Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia as a senior.
• Played four seasons of varsity volleyball for head coach Craig Dooren, leading the team to a state championship in 2016 and winning three straight regional titles from 2014-16.
• Three-time All-Virginia selection, four-time all-conference team member and two-time conference Player of the Year.
• Racked up over 200 aces and 800 kills in her high school career.
• Two-time team captain helped Princess Anne be ranked in the top 20 nationally during her senior campaign.
Awards & Honors
2017 Big South All-Freshman Team
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/25
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/16
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/23
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 11/6
2017 Big South Freshman of the Week, 8/28
2017 Big South Freshman of the Week, 9/11
2017 Big South Freshman of the Year
2017 First Team All-Big South Conference
2017 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2017 NCCSIA All-State Second Team
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/4
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/10
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/15
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/29
2018 First Team All-Big South Conference
2018 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2018 Preseason All-Big South Conference
2019 Big South Conference All-Academic Team
2019 Big South Conference All-Decade Team
2019 Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/23
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/30
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/7
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/14
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/28
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 11/4
2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3
2019 First Team All-Big South Conference
2019 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2019 Preseason All-Big South Conference
2020 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
2020 AVCA All-Southeast Region
2020 Big South Conference All-Academic Team
2020 Big South Conference Libero of the Week, 2/8
2020 Big South Conference Libero of the Week, 3/16
2020 Big South Conference Libero of the Week, 3/30
2020 Big South Conference Player of the Year
2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3
2020 CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team
2020 First Team All-Big South Conference
2020 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2020 Preseason All-Big South Conference
2020 VolleyballMag.com Fourth Team All-American
2020-21 Big South Conference Co-Woman of the Year
2020-21 Big South Conference Female Athlete of the Year
2020-21 Panther Cup Winner (Team MVP)
2020-21 Tobias Scholar-Athlete Award
2021 All-BIG EAST Conference
2021 AVCA All-East Region Honorable Mention
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/13
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/20
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/27
2021 Bluegrass Battle All-Tournament Team
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team
2021 Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team
2021 VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American
Personal
• Daughter of Glenn and Mary Bottomley.
• Has one older sister, Christy.
• Business analytics major.
• Best sports memory is beating UCF in the NCAA Tournament last year.
• Dream vacation destination is Thailand.
• Favorite food is Mongolian BBQ.
• Creighton Volleyball’s only First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history.
• Named an Honorable Mention All-American by VolleyballMag.com.
• All-BIG EAST Conference selection, the fifth time she’s been named an All-Conference pick in her career.
• BIG EAST ranks: 2nd in digs/set; 4th in aces/set.
• League play only ranks: 4th in digs/set; 4th in aces/set.
• NCAA ranks: 21st in digs; 28th in service aces, 35th in digs/set and 48th in aces/set.
• Finished career ranked seventh in NCAA history with 2,711 career digs.
• Creighton Volleyball’s first graduate transfer arrives on the Hilltop after a standout career at High Point University, where she was AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2020 and a Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
• Named Big South Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, Co-Woman of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year as well as earning a spot on Big South’s All-Decade Team.
• Led the Big South Conference in digs four times and aces her final two seasons, becoming second Big South player to be First Team All-Conference pick four times.
• Named to Bluegrass Battle All-Tournament Team after holding foes to .183 hitting.
• Named to Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 6.67 digs and 0.67 aces per set while holding foes to .085 hitting as she won a second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honor (9/20).
• Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 13 after averaging 6.00 digs per set in four matches from Sept. 8-11.
• Won third straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (9/27).
• Owned 28 digs in 3-1 win vs. Illinois (9/11).
• Produced season-high 31 digs and three aces at Butler (9/24).
• Had first double-double as a Bluejay with 19 digs and 11 assists vs. Marquette (10/10).
• Tied career-high with five aces vs. Georgetown (10/22).
• Became 17th woman in NCAA history to surpass 2,500 career digs when she did it in third set at UConn (10/16).
• Had 15 digs and three aces in 3-1 victory at Marquette (10/29).
• Had 26 digs, five assists and two aces in 3-1 win vs. Butler (11/7).
• Collected 19 digs and served two aces at Georgetown (11/12).
• Had 15 digs, eight assists and two aces in NCAA Tourney win vs. Ole Miss (Dec. 2).
• Closed career with 17 digs, seven assists and three aces vs. Kansas (Dec. 3).
• Had 10+ digs in first 16 matches as a Bluejay to stretch double-digit streak to 29 in a row before it ended.
2020: Senior at High Point
• Big South Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, Big South Co-Woman of the Year and Big South Female Athlete of the Year.
• Averaged 5.38 digs per set and topped Big South Conference in aces (28) for a second consecutive year.
• Became first player to lead Big South in digs in four straight seasons.
• Became second volleyball player in league history to be First Team All-Big South Conference in four straight seasons.
• AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and AVCA Southeast All-Region Team, as well as a VolleyballMag.com Fourth Team All-American.
• Second Team CoSIDA Academic
All-American and repeated as a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 choice.
• Ranked 23rd nationally in digs per set.
• Herr 6.75 digs per set in NCAA Tourney play ranked second-most in the field.
• Her 5.35 career digs per set are a Big South Conference record while her 2,158 digs ranked sixth-most in league history.
• Had a season-high 36 digs in NCAA Tournament victory vs. UCF (April 14).
• Became the sixth player in Big South history to surpass 2,000 career digs on March 19 vs. Charleston Southern in her 109th career match.
• Recorded a career-high five aces during win over Radford (Feb. 25).
• Had 36 digs in 3-2 win vs. UCF to help Panthers become first team in Big South history to win an NCAA Tourney match.
• Team started 17-0 under former Creighton assistant Ryan Meek before loss in Second Round of NCAA Tournament to Purdue.
• Three-time Big South Libero of the Week.
• Finished her season 27th in NCAA history (min. 1,500 digs) with 5.35 digs per set and just 634 shy of second-most digs in NCAA career history.
• High Point went 83-32 with three conference titles and three NCAA Tournament trips over the previous four seasons, with Bottomley collecting double-figure digs in 111-of-115 contests.
• Named a Millis Scholar Athlete for the fourth straight year as well as taking home the Tobias Scholar-Athlete Award.
• Won the Panther Cup as Team MVP.
2019: Junior at High Point
• Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year and First Team All-Big South.
• Led the conference in aces (43), digs (673) and digs per set (5.52).
• Ranked ninth nationally with 5.52 digs per set.
• Named to Big South Conference All-Decade Team in June of 2020.
• First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District 3.
• Named Big South Defensive Player of the Week six times, the most times any player has ever won the award in a single season.
• Had 30+ digs on four occasions, including a career-high 44 digs vs. Radford (Sept. 28).
• Served four service aces vs. both Wofford (Sept. 20) and Hampton (Oct. 4).
• Had 43 digs and a career-high 12 assists against Florida State (Nov. 2), her second career double-double.
• Owned double-digit digs in 33-of-34 contests.
2018: Sophomore at High Point
• Averaged 5.31 digs per set and added 23 aces.
• First Team All-Big South and four-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week.
• Ranked 27th nationally in digs per set.
• Recorded 42 digs at East Tennessee State (Oct. 9).
• Had 17 digs against Marquette in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 30).
• Collected 10+ digs in all 31 matches.
• Team won the Big South title with a 14-2 league mark under former Creighton assistant Tom Mendoza.
2017: Freshman at High Point
• Led the team and the Big South with 5.21 digs per set, and her 594 digs were a High Point freshman record.
• Became the fifth Panther to be named Big South Freshman of the Year and the first to be named First Team All-Big South in her first collegiate season.
• Two-time Big South Freshman of the Week in addition to being a four-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week.
• Ranked 28th nationally in digs per set.
• Dug a season-high 35 balls in four sets vs. Liberty (Sept. 19).
• Team went 16-0 to win the Big South regular-season title.
• Recorded 17 digs and an ace in the NCAA Tournament First Round match against Purdue (Nov. 30).
• Owned 10+ digs in 31-of-32 matches, including her first
24 contests.
Princess Anne High School
• Named Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia as a senior.
• Played four seasons of varsity volleyball for head coach Craig Dooren, leading the team to a state championship in 2016 and winning three straight regional titles from 2014-16.
• Three-time All-Virginia selection, four-time all-conference team member and two-time conference Player of the Year.
• Racked up over 200 aces and 800 kills in her high school career.
• Two-time team captain helped Princess Anne be ranked in the top 20 nationally during her senior campaign.
Awards & Honors
2017 Big South All-Freshman Team
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/25
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/16
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/23
2017 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 11/6
2017 Big South Freshman of the Week, 8/28
2017 Big South Freshman of the Week, 9/11
2017 Big South Freshman of the Year
2017 First Team All-Big South Conference
2017 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2017 NCCSIA All-State Second Team
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/4
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/10
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/15
2018 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/29
2018 First Team All-Big South Conference
2018 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2018 Preseason All-Big South Conference
2019 Big South Conference All-Academic Team
2019 Big South Conference All-Decade Team
2019 Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/23
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 9/30
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/7
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/14
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 10/28
2019 Big South Defensive Player of the Week, 11/4
2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3
2019 First Team All-Big South Conference
2019 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2019 Preseason All-Big South Conference
2020 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American
2020 AVCA All-Southeast Region
2020 Big South Conference All-Academic Team
2020 Big South Conference Libero of the Week, 2/8
2020 Big South Conference Libero of the Week, 3/16
2020 Big South Conference Libero of the Week, 3/30
2020 Big South Conference Player of the Year
2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3
2020 CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team
2020 First Team All-Big South Conference
2020 Millis Scholar-Athlete Award
2020 Preseason All-Big South Conference
2020 VolleyballMag.com Fourth Team All-American
2020-21 Big South Conference Co-Woman of the Year
2020-21 Big South Conference Female Athlete of the Year
2020-21 Panther Cup Winner (Team MVP)
2020-21 Tobias Scholar-Athlete Award
2021 All-BIG EAST Conference
2021 AVCA All-East Region Honorable Mention
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/13
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/20
2021 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, 9/27
2021 Bluegrass Battle All-Tournament Team
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team
2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team
2021 Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team
2021 VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American
Personal
• Daughter of Glenn and Mary Bottomley.
• Has one older sister, Christy.
• Business analytics major.
• Best sports memory is beating UCF in the NCAA Tournament last year.
• Dream vacation destination is Thailand.
• Favorite food is Mongolian BBQ.
Creighton Volleyball vs Northern Iowa NCAA Volleyball Second Round Press Conference
Saturday, December 06
Creighton Volleyball vs Northern Colorado NCAA Volleyball First Round Press Conference 12:4:25
Friday, December 05
Utah Volleyball Press Conference - 12/4/25
Friday, December 05
Northern Iowa Volleyball Press Conference - 12/4/25
Friday, December 05
