2012 (Redshirt Senior Year): Member of the MEAC All-Academic Team … Played in 15 matches and started 13 after missing the first part of the season due to injury … Competed in 57 sets … Posted 262 assists, averaging 4.60 per set … Extended her own school record for career assists with 2,424 … Ended her career eighth all-time in digs with 579 … Also had 59 digs, 33 kills and 13 service aces on the season … Totaled season highs of 25 assists and nine digs against Florida A&M on Nov. 17 … Had six matches with 20 or more assists … Posted 25 assists against Delaware State on Senior Day on Nov. 11 … Also reached nine digs a second time on the year against Howard on Oct. 7 … Threw down seven kills on nine swings with a career-high five service aces and 18 assists at Delaware State on Oct. 12 … Added 24 assists with three kills against UMES on Nov. 9 … Contributed 24 assists against Morgan State on Oct. 26 as well.
2011 (Senior Year): Utilized medical redshirt after missing the entire year due to injury … Member of the MEAC All-Academic Team.
2010 (Junior Year): Set the school record with 877 assists, breaking the previous mark of 818 set by Solange Honore in 2008 … Also ended the year with 2,162 assists, shattering Honore’s previous career mark of 1,971 … Received the team’s Coaches Award … Member of the MEAC All-Academic Team … Stood ninth at the end of the year in career digs with 520 … Named the MEAC Co-Player of the Week Nov. 1 after breaking the career assist record and posting a triple-double at South Carolina State … Competed in 30 matches and started 29 … Saw action in 110 sets … Totaled 115 kills on a .279 attack percentage, the best mark on the team … Averaged 1.05 kills and 7.97 assists per set, the latter good for fifth in the conference … Also totaled 179 digs, an average of 1.63 per set … Posted 18 blocks and 13 service aces as well … Had at least 30 assists in 14 matches, including seven with 40 or more assists … Had a career night at South Carolina State Oct. 27, breaking the career assist record on the way to a triple-double with 26 assists, 10 digs and a career-high 13 kills … Recorded the first triple-double by an NSU player since 2005 … Also had her third straight double-double and the fifth of the season … Tied her career high with 15 digs and had a season-high 48 assists against UNC Greensboro Aug. 28 at the Spartan Classic … Had a combined 17 kills in two matches against Coppin State and UMES Oct. 2 … Came close to a triple double with 29 assists, nine kills and eight digs against Coppin State … The next match at home against Florida A&M Oct. 4, totaled 40 assists with 11 digs … Posted 40 assists in a 3-2 win at Bethune-Cookman Nov. 12 and 44 assists two days later at Florida A&M.
2009 (Sophomore Year): The Norfolk State Female Athlete of the Year … Named to the All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Second Team … Member of the MEAC All-Academic Team … Team’s primary setter, ranked seventh in the MEAC with 7.30 assists per set … Named the team’s Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row … Competed in all 31 matches with a team-leading 27 starts … Appeared in 105 sets, totaling 767 assists … Also finished fourth on the team with 130 kills, averaging 1.24 per set while hitting a team-leading .276 … Also ranked second on the team with 1.84 digs per set (193 total) and 22 service aces … Totaled 20 blocks … Reached 30 or more assists eight times … Had a season and career high with 50 assists at South Carolina State Oct. 28 with 11 digs and six kills … One of five double-doubles on the year … Had 43 assists and a career-high 15 digs against Bethune-Cookman Nov. 1 along with seven kills and four service aces … Tied her season high in service aces with four the very next match Nov. 8 against Winston-Salem State … Reached a new career high in kills with 10 against North Carolina A&T Oct. 9 to go along with 24 assists … Also had double-doubles with assists and digs on two other occasions … Nearly missed out on a triple-double with 23 assists, 11 digs and nine kills Oct. 13 at James Madison.
2008 (Freshman Year): Named the team’s Most Valuable Player … Played in 27 matches and started 15 … Led the team in hitting percentage (.240) and assists (518) … Had 65 kills, 16 aces, 148 digs and eight total blocks on the season … Ranked ninth in the MEAC with 5.82 assists per set … Had a career-high 46 assists in the 3-1 win over Hampton Nov. 5 … Had a double-double of 43 assists and 11 digs in the Sept. 9 win over Hampton … Had 11 matches where she passed out 20 or more assists, including four of 30 or more … Had a career-high six kills on two occasions, first against Youngstown State Sept. 5 and then against Maryland Eastern Shore in the first round of the MEAC Tournament on Nov. 14 … Had a season-best 14 digs and added 28 assists, five kills and two aces in the 3-1 win over Winston-Salem State Oct. 19 … Posted three double-doubles in assists and digs for the season … Held a positive hitting percentage in 25 of the 27 matches in which she played.
High School: Played two years of varsity volleyball for coach Brandon Blevins … Named to the All-Baseline Conference First Team as a junior and senior … Tallied 910 assists, 205 digs, 102 kills, 24 aces and 30 blocks (11 solo) her senior year … Had 707 assists, 158 digs, 95 kills, 36 blocks (14 solo) and 17 aces as a junior … Was also a scholar athlete at RCHS … Named to the Ayala and Los Osos High School all-tournament teams her junior and senior years.
Personal: Full name is Nicole Marie Kessner … Born on Dec. 28, 1989 … Daughter of Janice and David … Has two younger sisters, Chelsea and Aubrey, and two younger brothers, Eli and Matt … Majoring in pre-med biology … Wants to become a pediatrician with a midwife degree … Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Biology Club, the Pre-Med Society and the Science Honor Society … Enjoys reading, dancing and hanging out with friends.
KESSNER'S CAREER STATS
YEAR |
SP |
K |
E |
TA |
PCT |
A |
SA |
SE |
RE |
DIG |
BS |
BA |
BHE |
2008 |
89 |
65 |
17 |
200 |
.240 |
518 |
16 |
23 |
1 |
148 |
1 |
7 |
15 |
2009 |
105 |
130 |
38 |
333 |
.276 |
767 |
22 |
14 |
2 |
193 |
1 |
19 |
19 |
2010 |
110 |
115 |
25 |
323 |
.279 |
877 |
13 |
17 |
3 |
179 |
0 |
18 |
12 |
2012 |
57 |
33 |
9 |
90 |
.267 |
262 |
13 |
6 |
2 |
59 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
Totals |
361 |
343 |
89 |
946 |
.268 |
2424 |
64 |
60 |
8 |
579 |
2 |
44 |
59 |