Congrats to Lexy Kessel!

Lexy Kessel is WV Gatorade Player of the Year

HUNTINGTON - Ripley senior Lexy Kessel was named West Virginia Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year as announced by the Gatorade Company in conjunction with ESPN RISE on Wednesday. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court.

Kessel will join the Marshall volleyball program as one of the top volleyball players in the state of West Virginia. She played four years at Ripley where she earned numerous accolades and records. During her prep career, she set school records in career kills (1,749), single-season kills (701), career digs (1,658), single-season digs (742) and hitting efficiency (.371).

As an outside hitter and defensive specialist, Kessel registered 742 digs and 585 kills for a Vikings squad which finished 39-14-2 and advanced to the Class AAA regional semifinals. She also compiled 86 service aces and 42 assists.

Kessel was a two-time Mountain State Athletic Conference Player of the Year recipient, two-time first team all-state selection, three-time MSAC first team selection, twice was named captain of the all-conference squad and was the Wendy's High School Heisman recipient for West Virginia.

In 1985, The Gatorade Company established an award honoring America's elite high school student-athletes. Now in its third decade, the Gatorade Player of the Year award has become one of the most prestigious accolades in high school sports. The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one award-winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school boys football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, boys baseball, girls softball and boys and girls track and field.

The selection process for Gatorade State and National Players of the Year is administered by ESPN RISE in partnership with The Gatorade Company. All final selection decisions are the result of a collaborative effort between ESPN RISE and The Gatorade Company.

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