Calvary grad Kile piles up many volleyball honors
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Emma Kile keeps raising the bar.
The Butler native helped the women’s volleyball team at Clearwater (Fla.) Christian College win its fifth consecutive National Christian College Athletic Association Division II title last fall.
The Cougars finished the season with an overall mark of 46-8.
But the honors didn’t stop there for Kile, a junior middle hitter.
Along with being named the championship tournament MVP, she was named the NCCAA Co-Player of the Year and earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year as well.
“The AVCA award, that includes Division I players on scholarship,” said Clearwater coach Vickie Denny. “It’s quite an honor.”
But for Kile, the most memorable moment of the 2010 season had nothing to do with individual accolades.
“Winning another national title, that would have to be the best aspect of the season for me,” said Kile, a 2008 graduate of Calvary Academy in Jefferson Township. “Winning the awards are nice for me, but team success is always more special than individual honors.”
Kile also was an All-American as a sophomore in 2009.
Denny describes Kile as a player who leads not with her words, but with her actions.
“She’s very quiet, but her work ethic is the biggest reason for her success,” the veteran coach said. “She always gives 100 percent.”
Kile led the Cougars last season in kills per game (4.5), blocks (1.36) and was third in digs (3.08).
Her kills helped Clearwater lead NCCAA Division II in that category with 2,203.
Kile credits Denny for keeping the program at an elite level.
“Our practices are never laid back,” said Kile, an elementary education major. “Coach Denny keeps them intense. She is not satisfied with anything but our very best. She always reminds us that what we did last year, that’s in the past. It keeps us focused.
“We aren’t always the bigger, stronger and more talented team,” added Kile. “We are playing to honor God and He has been very good to us.”
Denny and the Cougars have Kile for one more season.
“She’ll be our only senior next year and will have a lot of responsibility on her shoulders,” Denny said. “I’m trying not to think about what it’s going to be like when she graduates.”
