NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk State sophomore setter Nicole Kessner (Blacksburg, Va.) was named to the 2009 All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference volleyball second team as voted on by the conference head coaches and sports information directors the league announced on Thursday.

Kessner is the first Spartan to earn All-MEAC honors under third-year head coach Jennifer Fry. 

On the season, Kessner leads the Spartans with 753 assists and has 186 digs, 130 kills, 21 aces and 20 blocks. She ranks seventh in the MEAC in digs per set (7.38) and is second on the team in digs and aces. Additionally, Kessner is third on the NSU all-time assists list with 1,271 assists in just two years.

Florida A&M University junior Jovana Blazeski was named the Player of the Year. University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Bella Jade Romero earned Rookie of the Year accolades, while Lady Hawks Head Coach Don Metil was named Coach of the Year

The Spartans (9-21) are the No. 4 seed in the southern division in the 2009 MEAC Volleyball Tournament and will take on UMES (22-6), the top seed from the north, at 1 p.m. on Friday. The tournament will be played at the Coppin Center on the campus of Coppin State University in Baltimore, Md.

NSU is 0-2 the season against UMES and has been eliminated by the Lady Hawks in each of the last two MEAC Tournaments.

For more information on the 2009 MEAC Volleyball Tournament, log on to www.meacsports.com.