A Huntsville resident has been named the top athlete at her university.

Stefanie Hancock was named as Nipissing University’s best female athlete for 2008. The volleyball star was presented with her prize at the school’s 15th annual awards banquet held last week in North Bay.

Hancock, a third-year 5’9” left-side player, posted a career-best season, accumulating an impressive 3.80 points per game average on 149 kills, 21 aces and 16 blocks. Hancock also reached a career high with 26 points collected in a five-set marathon victory against Humber.

Hancock led the team in points per games and digs and was seventh in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) scoring race.

The Lady Lakers posted an 11-3 regular season record and returned to the OCAA gold medal game for the third straight season against rival Humber College. This was a great accomplishment since the defending champions lost eight players from last year’s squad.

Hancock was named a Central-West – West Division first team all-star as well as an OCAA championship all-star and the Lady Lakers’ most valuable player.

She was a member of the 2007 Lady Lakers team that was named North Bay’s team of the year for 2007. That team went 14-0 through the season before sweeping Humber in the OCAA for its first-ever championship.