Lennon Earns C-USA Spirit of Service Award
12/13/2021 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
One of league's 14 honorees
DALLAS - Rice senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon was named one of 14 Conference USA Fall Spirit of Service Award winners, the league announced Monday (Dec. 13).
C-USA's Spirit of Service Award is given to one student athlete from all 14 member schools and is presented three times throughout the year. The honor recognizes student athletes with significant community service endeavors, good academic standing, and participation in their sport.
On the court, Lennon became the first Owl in program history to become a four-time Southwest All-Region Team last week, this after also becoming a four-time C-USA First Team selection. The Katy, Texas native became Rice's all-time leader in career kills earlier this season and finished her illustrious career with 2,144 kills. She is the only active player in the NCAA with over 2,000 career kills and 1,500 career digs. An AVCA Third Team All-American last year, this season she ranks 20th in the NCAA in kills per set (4.44) and 27th in points per set (4.91). She ranked 10th among all C-USA players with a .338 hitting percentage during league play. Lennon, who is one of 10 Senior CLASS Award finalists, posted double-figure kills in 21 of 27 matches and led the Owls with 16 double-doubles.
Lennon will graduate from Rice this month as a double major, carrying a 3.74 GPA in both psychology and economics. She is a three-time honoree of the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award, was named 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District, and was a 2021 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American. Lennon was also named to the C-USA All-Academic Team three times, was awarded a Conference USA Academic Medal in Spring 2021, and has been named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll four times.
In addition to the classroom, Lennon has conducted research at Rice University and at the University of Houston. For her Senior Honors Thesis, she focused on disciplinary disparities in elementary school children due to differences in race, gender, and racial stereotypicality. She was awarded the Jenessa Shapiro Prize for Best Undergraduate Thesis for her academic work by the Rice Psychological Sciences department. She is a member of the Rice University Psi Chi Honor Society, the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program, and a student member of the American Psychological Society.
Lennon is an active participant in the community at Rice, serving as a Peer Wellbeing Athletic Advisor for a peer-based mental health resources program for Rice athletes.
Off campus, since Fall 2019, Lennon has tutored Kindergarteners through 8th graders weekly at the FORGE for Families, a Christian non-profit after-school program located in the one of the most underserved areas of Houston, devoting almost 100 hours there. She has also volunteered several times a year at the Houston Food Bank in the Warehouse and Kitchen and with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, educating and informing citizens and legislators about bills proposed at Texas legislative sessions.
Lastly, Lennon has spent 1000+ volunteer hours conducting research over the last three years both on Rice University campus and on the University of Houston campus. Her research focus is on the effects of discrimination on marginalized groups, such as minority racial/ethnic groups, women, those with minority religious identities, those with disabilities, and those who are LGBTQ+, and remedies for both the mental health of those discriminated against & for the systemic barriers that they face.
2021 C-USA Fall Spirit of Service Award winners
-RiceOwls.com-
C-USA's Spirit of Service Award is given to one student athlete from all 14 member schools and is presented three times throughout the year. The honor recognizes student athletes with significant community service endeavors, good academic standing, and participation in their sport.
On the court, Lennon became the first Owl in program history to become a four-time Southwest All-Region Team last week, this after also becoming a four-time C-USA First Team selection. The Katy, Texas native became Rice's all-time leader in career kills earlier this season and finished her illustrious career with 2,144 kills. She is the only active player in the NCAA with over 2,000 career kills and 1,500 career digs. An AVCA Third Team All-American last year, this season she ranks 20th in the NCAA in kills per set (4.44) and 27th in points per set (4.91). She ranked 10th among all C-USA players with a .338 hitting percentage during league play. Lennon, who is one of 10 Senior CLASS Award finalists, posted double-figure kills in 21 of 27 matches and led the Owls with 16 double-doubles.
Lennon will graduate from Rice this month as a double major, carrying a 3.74 GPA in both psychology and economics. She is a three-time honoree of the Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award, was named 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District, and was a 2021 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American. Lennon was also named to the C-USA All-Academic Team three times, was awarded a Conference USA Academic Medal in Spring 2021, and has been named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll four times.
In addition to the classroom, Lennon has conducted research at Rice University and at the University of Houston. For her Senior Honors Thesis, she focused on disciplinary disparities in elementary school children due to differences in race, gender, and racial stereotypicality. She was awarded the Jenessa Shapiro Prize for Best Undergraduate Thesis for her academic work by the Rice Psychological Sciences department. She is a member of the Rice University Psi Chi Honor Society, the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program, and a student member of the American Psychological Society.
Lennon is an active participant in the community at Rice, serving as a Peer Wellbeing Athletic Advisor for a peer-based mental health resources program for Rice athletes.
Off campus, since Fall 2019, Lennon has tutored Kindergarteners through 8th graders weekly at the FORGE for Families, a Christian non-profit after-school program located in the one of the most underserved areas of Houston, devoting almost 100 hours there. She has also volunteered several times a year at the Houston Food Bank in the Warehouse and Kitchen and with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, educating and informing citizens and legislators about bills proposed at Texas legislative sessions.
Lastly, Lennon has spent 1000+ volunteer hours conducting research over the last three years both on Rice University campus and on the University of Houston campus. Her research focus is on the effects of discrimination on marginalized groups, such as minority racial/ethnic groups, women, those with minority religious identities, those with disabilities, and those who are LGBTQ+, and remedies for both the mental health of those discriminated against & for the systemic barriers that they face.
2021 C-USA Fall Spirit of Service Award winners
| Name | Sport | School |
| Chaz Neal | Football | Florida Atlantic University |
| Ainsley Yanz | Volleyball | Louisiana Tech University |
| Brian Cavicante | Football | Marshall University |
| Reed Blankenship | Football | Middle Tennessee State University |
| Ryan Parncutt | Women's Soccer | Old Dominion University |
| Nicole Lennon | Volleyball | Rice University |
| Rhett Robinson | Volleyball | University of North Texas |
| Lindsey Legg | Volleyball | University of Southern Mississippi |
| Morgan Halliwill | Women's Soccer | University of Alabama at Birmingham |
| Mia Ybarra | Volleyball | University of Texas at San Antonio |
| Hallie Shelton | Volleyball | Western Kentucky University |
-RiceOwls.com-
Players Mentioned
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