Lydia Dimke
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Lydia Dimke Named to Senior CLASS Award Candidate List
10/3/2017 12:35:00 PM | Volleyball
Senior setter for Creighton is among just 30 candidates nationally
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Creighton's Lydia Dimke is among 30 student-athletes who excel both on and off the court that were selected today as candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball. Dimke is the BIG EAST's only representative to make the initial cut.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
Of the 30 candidates, 13 have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher and 18 have received academic all-conference honors. Seventeen are returning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, and 13 are members of teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
A setter from Ham Lake, Minn., Dimke averages 10.74 assists, 2.58 digs, 1.47 kills and 0.77 blocks per set while hitting .430. She was named 2017 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year this fall after ending last year with BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades. She was also named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA last season after helping the Bluejays to the Elite Eight.
A two-time team captain, Dimke has performed more than 25 hours of community service since arriving at Creighton. She's been active with Welcome Week, performed a clinic for children, visits local schools to read, spoke and helped at the Mustang March at Mary Our Queen, and has helped feed the homeless. In the classroom, she earned a spot on Creighton's Dean's List in the Fall of 2016, when she was also leading Creighton to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. She also landed a spot on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2016-17 and was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2015-16 as a student-athlete at Purdue. Dimke is a communication studies major.
Dimke is the latest in a long line of Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Jess Bird and Lauren Smith were candidates in 2016, with Smith ending the fall as a Senior CLASS All-American. Other past volleyball candidates include Melanie Jereb in 2015, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Volleyball Candidates
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.
Ranked 12th nationally, Creighton returns to the court this week with matches at Marquette (Thursday, 7 pm) and DePaul (Friday, 6 pm).
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
Of the 30 candidates, 13 have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher and 18 have received academic all-conference honors. Seventeen are returning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, and 13 are members of teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
A setter from Ham Lake, Minn., Dimke averages 10.74 assists, 2.58 digs, 1.47 kills and 0.77 blocks per set while hitting .430. She was named 2017 Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year this fall after ending last year with BIG EAST Player of the Year accolades. She was also named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA last season after helping the Bluejays to the Elite Eight.
A two-time team captain, Dimke has performed more than 25 hours of community service since arriving at Creighton. She's been active with Welcome Week, performed a clinic for children, visits local schools to read, spoke and helped at the Mustang March at Mary Our Queen, and has helped feed the homeless. In the classroom, she earned a spot on Creighton's Dean's List in the Fall of 2016, when she was also leading Creighton to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. She also landed a spot on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team in 2016-17 and was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2015-16 as a student-athlete at Purdue. Dimke is a communication studies major.
Dimke is the latest in a long line of Creighton Volleyball student-athletes to make the Senior CLASS cut in recent seasons, as Jess Bird and Lauren Smith were candidates in 2016, with Smith ending the fall as a Senior CLASS All-American. Other past volleyball candidates include Melanie Jereb in 2015, Kelli Browning in 2014 and Megan Bober in 2012. Former Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Volleyball Candidates
| Rhamat Alhassan, Florida | Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State |
| Haley Barnes, High Point | Simone Lee, Penn State |
| Kelsey Bittinger, Kent State | Abbie Lehman, Wichita State |
| Julia Brown, NC State | Sydney LeMay, Western Michigan |
| Alyssa Cavanaugh, Western Kentucky | Jessica Lucas, Western Kentucky |
| Alexis Conaway, Iowa State | Merete Lutz, Stanford |
| Sammy Condon, Oakland | Mary-Kate Marshall, Oregon State |
| Melanie Crow, Missouri | Ebony Nwanebu, Texas |
| Lydia Dimke, Creighton | Maddie Palmer, Radford |
| Ashley Dusek, Kentucky | Kelsie Payne, Kansas |
| Emily Hiebert, Wichita State | Courtney Schwan, Washington |
| Kelly Hunter, Nebraska | Katie Staiger, Baylor |
| Brittany Jessen, South Dakota | Megan Theiller, Fairfield |
| Lily Johnson, Missouri State | Kori Waelbroeck, IUPUI |
| Crissy Jones, Washington | Haleigh Washington, Penn State |
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.
Ranked 12th nationally, Creighton returns to the court this week with matches at Marquette (Thursday, 7 pm) and DePaul (Friday, 6 pm).
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