Hempstead, NY - Former Hofstra University volleyball student-athlete Kelsie Wills has been named one of two Colonial Athletic Association nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, it was announced today. 

Alyssa Ritchie, a women's tennis student-athlete from UNCW, is the conference's other nominee.

Wills is one of only 147 conference nominees and she is part of a small group of 57 from the NCAA Division I level. In addition, there are only 16 international student-athletes among the 147 conference nominees and Wills, a New Zealand native, is one of them. 

Of the 147, 23 played volleyball and nine of them played volleyball at the NCAA Division I level. 

This is the 25th year of the awards program and it is awarded based upon four pillars: academics, athletics, service and leadership.

A senior outside hitter on the Pride Volleyball team, Wills was one of two recipients of the Dr. Nathalie J. Smith Award. The award is presented annually to Hofstra's top female athlete. 

Wills became the second-ever American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American in program history in 2014 after leading the Pride to a CAA Championship and a bid to the NCAA Tournament. She was also named to the AVCA All-East Region team, becoming just the seventh player in school history to earn AVCA All-Region accolades.

The 2014 CAA Player of the Year and an All-CAA First Team selection, Wills led Hofstra with 506 kills, while ranking second in service aces (30), third in digs (312) and fourth in blocks (68). Her spectacular senior season saw her reach double-figures in kills in all but four matches and she tallied 13 double-doubles.

The Matamata, New Zealand, native, closed her career as the program's all-time leader in kills with 1,942. She is one of only six players in program history to total at least 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs as she picked up 1,226 digs during her four seasons at Hofstra. She is also the first player in program history with three seasons of 500 or more kills.  A three-time All-CAA first team selection, Wills, who majored in accounting, was also named the 2014 CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in volleyball. In addition she has also been a CAA Commissioner's Academic Award recipient on multiple occasions. 

A two-year captain, Wills has been an outstanding student leader in and around the Hofstra community during her time as a student-athlete. She has spent time volunteering with the Long Island Cradle of Aviation, the Long Island Children's Museum and the North Shore LIJ Health System. She has taken visits to elementary schools to read to children, stressing the importance of a strong balance between education and athletics. Wills has also volunteered at the Annual CAA Food Drive Challenge, as well as with the Hofstra University It's On Us campaign, among other service efforts.

A Dean's List student, Wills earned her degree in accounting with a minor in finance. She had a 3.40 cumulative grade point average.