BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Head coach Amy Zink and sophomore Jessie Pendleton have been named Mid-South Conference Volleyball Coach and Co-Libero of the Year, conference officials announced tonight at a banquet held at the National Corvette Museum.

The honor for Zink is the second in her tenure as head coach, while the honor for Pendleton is the first of her career. Lindsey Wilson's Caitlyn Tino also earned Co-Libero of the Year. In addition to Pendleton, Annija Abolina and Inoa Fields earned First-Team All-MSC honors, while Maria Coelho earned Second-Team honors. 

Pendleton has had a fantastic year leading the Lady Tiger defense by being named Libero of the Week a total of six times. The Louisville, Ky. native has accumulated 774 digs this season – ranking her third on the all-time list for single-season digs. The only Lady Tiger with more digs was her coach, Amy Eckenfels Zink, with 934 in 2006 and 1,229 in 2005.

In the career record books, Pendleton ranks No. 6 with 1,259 digs as a sophomore. Zink holds the record with 3,569.

Pendleton's 744 digs this season lead the Mid-South Conference with the next Libero, Courtney Grafton, compiling 516 this year. Tino finished the regular season with 476.

At that national level, Pendleton ranks No. 7 in total digs and No. 14 by averaging 5.730 digs per set.

"I am extremely proud of Jessie for being named MSC Libero of the year," said coach Zink. "She has worked hard everyday this year on her consistency, and it has shown. She is focused on her individual play, but more importantly, focused on the concept of being a team. Jessie is the leader of our defense, and has made a huge impact on this season's success. I feel she is very deserving of this award, and I am very proud of her for this accomplishment."

Zink led her 2016 team to an improved winning percentage of .694, six additional wins (25-11) and two more wins in conference play (10-4) than the previous year.
 
The Lady Tigers open their conference tournament venture Thursday, Nov. 10 when they take on Cumberland University at 8:30 ET at South Warren High School, the venue for the MSC Championship for the second straight year.

"Congratulations to Coach Zink for being recognized for her team's accomplishments this year," said Rusty Hollingsworth, director of CU athletics. "Amy has done an exceptional job with recruiting and preparing her team for competition in the tough Mid-South Conference.    
 
"Amy does a great job coaching the varsity team while still overseeing the daily operations of the junior varsity team. It is always special for a coach to be recognized by their peer coaches for such an award."
 
Zink took over the Campbellsville program after helping to lead Campbellsville to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division I National Championship in 2009 — the first-ever team national championship for the school. In her first season as head coach, Zink returned the Lady Tigers to the NCCAA national championship game and posted a 34-12 record, becoming the first CU volleyball coach to win 30 matches in the first season. Following the 2010 season, she was named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year.
 
She played four years for the Lady Tigers and graduated from Campbellsville in 2007 as the program's most decorated player. She set numerous defensive records for CU and holds three NAIA defensive records. Zink was a three-time NAIA All-American are was named the 2006 NAIA Libero of the Year.

In addition to Pendleton on the first team, Fields led the MSC with 1,339 digs and ranks No 5 in the NAIA. Fields was named MSC Setter of the Week a total of three times and NCCAA Player of the Week twice in her senior campaign. Abolina, a junior from Riga, Latvia, earned Attacker of the Week three times this season and led the MSC with 493 kills. At the national level, Abolina ranks No. 8 in total kills.

Coelho, the lone second-teamer, registered 383 kills for second-highest honors on the team. Coelho also earned MSC Attacker of the Week twice in her sophomore campaign.

Lastly, Abolina, Coelho, Julie Fonseca, Kim Miller and Kristyn Moore earned Academic All-MSC honors, which was released this week. See above link for academic story. 
 
You can follow Lady Tiger Volleyball through Twitter @CvilleTigers and @CUTigerVball, on Facebook at Campbellsville Tigers and on the web at www.campbellsvilletigers.com.