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Aug. 26, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Tennessee senior Nikki Fowler has been named one of 30 candidates for the first-ever Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in volleyball. The honor will be given to the student-athlete with the most notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The 2010 candidate class includes eight AVCA All-Americans from last season. Twenty of the 30 have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better. Two of the candidates were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as 2009 Academic All-Americans, and 12 are members of teams ranked in the AVCA's preseason top 25 poll. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winners during the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.

The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

"We are excited to add women's volleyball to the award program and are encouraged by the strong group of women who make up our first class of candidates," said Tom Lamb, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing. "These student-athletes are outstanding leaders and have contributed many hours to make their universities and communities better places."

For more information on all the candidates, visit www.seniorCLASSaward.com

NIKKI FOWLER CANDIDATE INFORMATION

Classroom
A business major, Nikki Fowler currently possesses a sparkling 3.79 GPA through her first three years at Rocky Top. She has twice been named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV Team and is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She is the only Lady Vol volleyball player to ever earn academic all-district honors twice and will look to add a third award to her name this year. Following graduation, Fowler plans to attend graduate school and work with a music promotion company.

Character
A quiet but determined leader, Fowler has been the steadying hand that has led the Lady Vols to back-to-back 20-win seasons and consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. The Dallas, Texas, native was a finalist in 2009 for the Miss Tennessee Award at UT's annual VOLSCARS banquet. This award is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the spirit of Tennessee, based on academics, athletics, team leadership and service. Fowler also serves as the representative from the volleyball team on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Community
Despite all the hours dedicated to volleyball and academics, Fowler always makes time to give back to the Knoxville community. She has participated in numerous charitable activities, including assisting with free volleyball clinics for children, reading to preschool children, Teams for Toys, April Play Day, Habitat for Humanity, Saving Little Hearts miniature golf fundraiser and visiting sick children at East Tennessee Children's Hospital. She has also helped to host a holiday dinner where she helped provide food and clothing for the homeless.

Competition
A three-year starter for UT, Fowler has been named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and All-SEC First Team member in each of the past two seasons. This past summer, she spent time training and playing with the U.S. Women's National A2 Team, winning a gold medal with the Blue squad at the USA Volleyball Open National Championships. A "do-it-all" player, Fowler currently ranks 12th on the Lady Vols' all-time career kills list, second in attacks per set, sixth in kills per set, seventh in digs per set and sixth in total attacks.

To view Fowler's candidate page directly, please visit http://www.seniorclassaward.com/athletes/nikki_fowler/