ROCKS HUNTER ATHERTON EARNS VOLLEYBALL STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR & ALL AMERICA HONORS

HUNTER ATHERTON

2015Gatorade Player Of The Year for the State of Ohio.

— In its 31st year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, today announced Hunter Atherton of Dublin Coffman High School as its 2015-16 Gatorade Ohio Volleyball Player of the Year. Atherton is the first Gatorade Ohio Volleyball Player of the Year to be chosen from Dublin Coffman High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Atherton as Ohio’s best high school volleyball player. Atherton joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including USA Volleyball players Kim Glass (2001-02, Horseshoe HS, Penn.), Kim Willoughby (1998-99, 1999-00, Assumption HS, La.) and Ogonna Nnamani (1999-00, University HS, Ill). The 5-foot-11 senior setter distributed 734 assists and racked up 171 digs and 146 kills, leading the Shamrocks (26-3) to the Division I state final this past season. A two-time First Team All-State selection, Atherton is a 2015 Under Armour First Team All-American as named by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the nation’s No. 41 recruit as rated by PrepVolleyball.com. Atherton has maintained a 3.93 GPA in the classroom. She has volunteered locally on behalf of Destination Imagination, the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart event and as a youth volleyball coach. “Hunter Atherton is the best high school setter that I’ve seen in my 20-year career,” said John Buck, head coach at St. Ursula Academy. “She does it all. She runs the team and can make good hitters great and great hitters phenomenal.”

2015-2016 UNDER ARMOUR FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) selected Hunter Atherton as First Team Under Armour All-America.

The approximately 600 nominations are a record number for the program, resulting in a combined 150 All-Americans and Honorable Mention All-Americans. Many already committed to play collegiate volleyball at some of the top schools in the country. Hunter and the other first team members were invited to play in the Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match & Skills Competition. The event was held at the CenturyLink Center on Friday, December 18th in conjunction with the 2015 AVCA Annual Convention. Hunter won the best setter competition by scoring 13 points in the timed skills competition.

Hunter Atherton graduated from Dublin Coffman in December and is currently playing volleyball on scholarship at the University of Nebraska (2015 National Champions).