2020 BULLDOGS | STUDENT-ATHLETES
SKYLAR BUCKLEY FR. | S | 5-9 RALEIGH, N.C. NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN ACAD. Prior to College High School: Lettered five seasons at North Raleigh Christian Academy under head coach Chris Murray…Was a starter and six-rotation player on five consecutive state championship teams… Led Knights to perfect conference record all five seasons…Selected team captain each of her final three seasons…Racked up 1,000-plus digs (1,453), kills (1,142) and assists (1,055) over her career…Twice named Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference Player of the Year… Four-time TISAC All-Conference selection…Made North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association All-State Team three times…Three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association Phenom List honoree…Selected to High School OT’s North Carolina All-East team as a junior and senior…Played beach volleyball for NRCA in four seasons, ending with her junior campaign… Helped the Knights to runner-up (2015) and third-place finishes (2017) at state tournament in beach competition…Earned Under Armour/AVCA and PrepVolleyball.com All-America honors as a senior…Guided NRCA into a fifth place finish in 96-team Nike Tournament of Champions… Knights finished ranked No. 28 nationally by MaxPreps…Named to Nike Tournament of Champions All-Tournament team…Selected to AVCA All-America watch list and PrepVolleyball. com Player of the Year watch list…Tabbed a PrepVolleyball.com Senior Ace…As a junior, named to PrepVolleyball.com All-American Highest Honorable Mention list…Was selected to PrepVolleyball.com’s Sophomore 79 Highest Honorable Mention list…Was a PrepVolleyball.com Frosh 59 Special Mention selection as a freshman. Club: Four-year captain for Triangle Volleyball under head coach Nikki O’Connell…Competed on club’s top national team eight straight seasons…Helped team qualify for USA Volleyball National
Championship Open Division four consecutive seasons from 2015-18…Twice led Triangle to first place finish at City of Oaks Tournament in 2017 and 2019…Earned Triangle Volleyball Board Award in 2019…Helped team to runner-up finish at Sunshine Qualifier in 2017…Named Outstanding Athlete of AAU in 2016…Earned region MVP and all-tournament team honors in 2013. Beach: Played independently for eight years…Ranked in the top 10 national on the USA Volleyball Junior Beach Tour five straight years from 2013-17…Part of the Carolina Region Team of the Year four years straight from 2015-18…Earned Carolina Region Offensive Award three years consecutively from 2015-17…Finished in the top 10 at USA Volleyball Junior Beach National Open Division three times between 2015-17…Won first place at USA Volleyball Junior Beach Nationals Club in 2018. Personal Born Skylar Marie Buckley on May 18, 2001 in Raleigh, North Carolina…Daughter of Matt and Jenny Buckley…Has one sister, Riley, and one brother, Jayse…Dad lettered in baseball at Campbell University and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1996 MLB Draft…Mom lettered in volleyball at Campbell University…Cousins, Peter and Mary-Michael Burns, lettered for men’s and women’s golf teams, respectively, at LSU…Peter is a television personality on the SEC Network…Cousin, Elena Popkey, lettered in basketball at Oakland University and plays and coaches professionally in Sweden...Major undeclared.
AKACIA BROWN FR. | OH | 6-2 WATERLOO, IOWA CEDAR FALLS HS Prior to College High School: Lettered four years at Cedar Falls High School under head coach Matt Johnson… Led the Tigers to state championship as a sophomore and senior, and a runner-up finish during junior season…Two-time Mississippi Valley Conference Player of the Year as a junior and senior, and was All-MVC honorable mention as a sophomore…Twice voted Iowa Girls Coaches Association first-team All-State and Elite Team…Made Iowa 5A State All-Tournament Team as a junior and senior, and was tournament’s most valuable player as a senior…Named the Gatorade Iowa Volleyball Player of the Year, IGCA Player of the Year and PrepVolleyball.com Iowa Player of the Year following outstanding senior season…Tabbed a MaxPreps first team, Under Armour third team and PrepVolleyball.com All-American as a senior…In her final season, led CFHS to a 44-1 record and No. 6 national ranking by PrepVolleyball.com…Set Iowa 5A tournament record with 37 kills in the semifinal…Tallied 517 kills, 308 digs, 65 blocks and 50 service aces in her senior campaign…Named PrepVolleyball.com Senior Ace as one of the top 150 players in her class…517 kills set single-season record, besting her own mark from a year before…Averaged
22 27
4.66 kills per set on a .385 hitting percentage…Led Cedar Falls to a 47-1 record as a junior… Tallied 3.67 kills per set, a .377 hitting percentage and 2.74 digs per set…Also competed in track and basketball. Club: Played for Eastern Iowa Extreme Volleyball…Three-time AAU Nationals All-Tournament team selection between 2017-19…Led team to a 17U National title in 2019…Twice runner-up finisher at nationals with 14U and 16U teams. Personal Born Akacia Tianne Brown on August 15, 2002 in Mesa, Arizona…Daughter of Therix Brown and Kristine Falk…Has two brothers, Kalund and Kalehl, and one sister, Kaz…Sister, Kaz, was an All-American and four-time All-SEC selection at Kentucky from 2014-17…Brothers Kalund and Kalehl lettered in basketball at Southwest Baptist University...Major undeclared.
17
