CVCC freshman Clark earns first-team
All-American honors in volleyball
HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – Claire Neibergall of Lenoir-Rhyne University has been named the 2018 South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Scholar-Athlete of the year in women’s soccer.
NEIBERGAL
The award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the league’s championship sports and is voted on by the SAC’s Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.
Neibergall, a senior from Springfield, Ill., has been one of the Bears’ top defenders for four straight seasons and led this season’s team to an 11-6-1 overall record and a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
She won first-team honors on the All-SAC and on an all-state team after starting 18 matches, scoring three goals – one a game-winner – and anchoring a backline that allowed less than one goal per match.
Neibergall is pursuing a Computer Science degree and heads into the final semester with a 3.764 grade point average.
She has made the Dean’s List four times.
“Claire is everything that a coach looks for in a student-athlete,” LRU head coach Gary Higgins said in a press release. “She is a model of consistency and professionalism, on and off the field, and it has been an absolute pleasure being a part of her journey here at Lenoir-Rhyne. We are very proud of her and she fully deserves this award.”
She has volunteered her time throughout the community working with the Eagles Practice Soccer Club, the Catawba Youth Soccer Association and the Humane Society of Catawba County. Neibergall also volunteers on campus serving as a math and computer science tutor, working with Computer Science Outreach, and volunteering at the soup kitchen with Chi Alpha Sigma.
CLARK
CVCC’s Clark selected as All-American
HICKORY – Emma Clark, a freshman at Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) who starred at Watauga High, has been named a first-team All-American in volleyball by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
Clark, the 2018 Region X Player of the Year, is the fifth Red Hawks volleyball player to earn All-American status, joining Terri Ferber (2006-07), Jennifer Beatty (2012), Mariah Wallace (2016) and Megan Fair (2015-16).
She also is the second freshman at CVCC to be named a first-team All-American, joining women’s basketball player Anika Jones (2012).
“It means a lot because I wasn’t expecting to get it this year,” Clark said in a CVCC press release. “I wasn’t expecting to get it at all.
“I kind of started off the season a little slow just because I was trying to get used to everything. I didn’t start off the best, but I was like I’ve just got to come off stronger next year and hopefully I can be an All-American. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s sweet.”
Clark, a 6-foot-1 middle hitter, tallied a team-best 377 kills (2.56 per set) with a 0.337 hitting percentage, leading the Red Hawks offensively. She also led CVCC with 204 blocks (1.39 per set) and 161 block assists, helping to set a new program record for blocks (382).
Clark also finished second on the team with 72 aces and 0.49 aces per set.
“Emma has done a tremendous job for us this season, and I couldn’t be prouder of all that she has accomplished,” said CVCC head coach Shannon Hudson in the press release. “What an honor for her to receive the NJCAA All-American award as a freshman.
“Obviously, Emma is a phenomenal middle with an immensely powerful swing and a dominating presence at the net, but what impresses me most about Emma is that she is a selfless, hard-working player who consistently puts team before self and is always encouraging to her teammates…”
Behind Clark, the Red Hawks finished 36-10 record last season, including 14-0 in Region X matches. CVCC has won seven straight Region X titles, going unbeaten each time.
After winning the District O championship, CVCC advanced to the NJCAA Division II tournament in Charleston, W.Va., and finished in ninth place by winning three matches at the national tournament for the first time in school history.
LRU athletics starts Alumni Challenge
HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University’s athletic department and the Bears Club have formed the Bears Alumni Challenge, which will run from November to May before resetting for a run from June of next year to May of 2020.
The campaign invites alumni to donate to the team of their choice among the 22 offered by the athletic department. The Bears Club will have two awards, the team with the largest percentage of participation over a year ($2,500 award) and one to the team with the most new alumni contributions ($2,500 award).
Donations to a team can be any amount.
“The alumni challenge is a great way for our alumni to symbolize the commitment and dedication they have for our athletic program and institution,” Bears Club Director Terri Livingston said in an LRU press release. “All current and former athletes are competitive, making this challenge the best way to increase the number of official supporters and dollars to our athletic programs.”
Monthly updates will be shared in the form of a graph showing progress, and teams will be allowed to promote through social media channels and in-game announcements at home athletic events.
For more on LRU athletics, visit lrbears.com.
MORILLAS
LRU’s Morillas academic All-American
HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Ruben Morillas, a senior midfielder from Madrid, Spain, has been named a 2018 Google Cloud Academic First Team All-American.
The award is for District III in NCAA Division II, which consists of Conference Carolinas, Peach Belt Conference and the South Atlantic Conference.
Selections are made by sports information directors.
Morillas helped the Bears go 11-6 overall last season and 7-3 in the SAC to win the conference regular season title for the first time in school history.
He played in 16 matches with 15 starts, helped anchor the Bears’ defense and added an assist on the offense.
Morillas has a 4.00 grade point average and will graduate with a degree in Business Administration.
LRU signs 7 for tennis programs
HICKORY – Lenoir-Rhyne University has signed seven new tennis players, six from foreign countries and three for the men’s program and four for the women’s program.
The male signees include:
- Eric Van Nunen of Linkoping, Sweden, who has a Swedish national ranking of 32nd.
- Patrik Alvestrand of Linkoping, Sweden, who has a Swedish national rankings of 20th.
- Alex Hyman of Brighton, England, who represented England in the 2018 Home Nations Tournament.
The female signees include:
- Diana Babinets of Odessa, Ukraine, who has ranked as high as 44th in the Ukrainian Junior Division.
- Evelin Menyhart of Mogyorod, Hungary, who is ranked No. 10 in her country.
- Nadja Straehle of Ulm, Germany who has ranked as high as No. 89 in her country.
- Natalie Lutz of Kings Mountain, a three-time player of the year in the Big south 3A, a four-time state qualifier and a 2016 state doubles champion with a 46-1 career regular season singles mark and a 56-2 career regular season doubles record.