BELLEVUE, Wash. – Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Molly Locke (College Grove, Tenn.) was named the Division II Outside Hitter of the Year by Hero Sports during its annual awards honoring the best players at each position in 2015.

Carson-Newman volleyball won its first Southeast Region championship in 2015 while racking up 29 wins, the second-most in school history and the most in the conference on the year, finishing in the receiving votes category of the AVCA Coaches' Poll for the first time in school history.

Locke was the lone three-time South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week this season ranking second in the league in total points and total kills with 509.5 and 448 respectively. The Mercer transfer made the most of her lone season at Carson-Newman finishing with a team-leading 18 double-doubles, 27 matches with at least 10 kills and 21 contests with at least 10 digs. Locke failed to crest double-digits in kills just three times in her final 25 matches.

The second-team All-Southeast Region honoree is the first Eagle since Jenna Rust in 2003 to notch at least 400 kills and 400 digs in the same year with 448 kills and 454 digs on the year. The 448 kills are the seventh-most in a single year in Carson-Newman's history.

In her Carson-Newman debut, Locke racked up 27 kills and 20 digs against Quincy. The College Grove, Tenn. native became the first Carson-Newman player and fourth in the program's history to record a match with 20 kills and 20 digs since assistant coach Rachel Harper had 22 kills and 25 digs in a five-set match against Newberry on Oct. 19, 2012. She also became the first player with 25 or more kills since Carly Mozgai had 29 at Catawba on Nov. 12, 2010.

She was named Hero Sports's Division II Hero of the Week on Sept. 15 for her opening weekend efforts earning 50 percent of the vote edging out Tartleton State's Hailey Roberts by 21 votes. Ten players were nominated for the honor.

Locke tallied 25 kills and 27 digs in the SAC Quarterfinals against Anderson on Nov. 20 and 20 kills and 27 digs in the Southeast Region championship match against Lenoir-Rhyne on Dec. 6. The senior is the first Carson-Newman player to ever record multiple matches with 20 kills and 20 digs twice in the same season.

On top of being a first-team All-SAC pick, she was also a member of the 2015 All-Southeast Region Tournament team for her efforts in getting the Eagles their first-ever Southeast Region title.

To view all of the award winners from Hero Sports you can visit this site. Hero Sports has been run since 2013 and according to its website its mission is to "advance interest and appreciation for small-school athletics through aggregating and publicizing stories about teams, players, fans, and coaches".

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