Former NDA volleyball star Thelen excels at Seton Hall; Stanford defensive wiz Hentz wins Pac-12 honor

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

One is attending college on the east coast, while the other is out west in California.

But Notre Dame Academy graduates Abby Thelen and Morgan Hentz are both excelling on the volleyball court at the NCAA Division I level.

Thelen, a senior outside hitter at Seton Hall, recorded a match-high 19 kills during a four-set loss to Xavier on Saturday in South Orange, New Jersey. The Fort Mitchell native also attacked a .529 clip and added two blocks in that match.

For the season, the 6-foot-1 Thelen has collected a team-leading 212 kills and is hitting .281. Earlier this fall against Villanova, Thelen slammed down 20 kills and hit .383. She currently has 1,154 career kills and 201 total blocks.

A year ago, she was named first team All-Big East after leading Seton Hall in both kills (430) and kills per set (3.61). Thelen also notched career-highs of 24 kills and 21 digs against Buffalo — the first 20-kill, 20-dig match for a Pirate in more than a decade.

While at Notre Dame Academy, Thelen played middle blocker and helped the Pandas finish as state runner-up twice. She was named all-state in 2014 and collected 22 kills in the state championship match that season.

Seton Hall is currently 5-11 overall, and 0-3 in the Big East.

Meanwhile, 2,921 miles away on the opposite coast, Hentz continues to star in the Stanford back row. The junior libero from Lakeside Park has twice earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week awards this year, on Sept. 10 and Sept. 17.

Hentz led the Stanford defense with 5.43 digs per set and had just one reception error in a pair of wins over No. 3 Texas. She tallied 11 digs in a sweep at home, moving her into Stanford’s top 10 for career digs at 1,238.

Later in the week, Hentz recorded a season-high 27 digs as Stanford defeated Texas in four sets. Stanford is currently 10-1 and ranked No. 2 nationally.

Hentz, who was tabbed the Pac-12 Libero of the Year in 2017, ranked fourth in the Pac-12 last season with 4.08 digs per set — the ninth-best average in Stanford history. Her 486 digs were the 10th-most in Cardinal single-season history.

The 5-foot-9 Hentz earned first team All-America honors from the AVCA last year as Stanford posted a 30-4 record and advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

During her prep career, Hentz helped Notre Dame win four consecutive regional championships. She was named Miss Kentucky Volleyball in 2015 and was a finalist for national player of the year.

Notre Dame’s captain as a junior and senior, Hentz was also honored as the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Sportswoman Association’s High School Sportswoman of the Year in 2016. The anchor of Notre Dame’s back row, she was also named Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015.

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport