Kelley, Popplewell Selected to ASUN Winners for Life Teams

May 8, 2018 at 3:19 pm

LakePoint, Ga. – USC Upstate student-athletes Kaleigh Kelley and Riley Popplewell were honored by the ASUN Conference on Tuesday as the league announced its Winners for Life team members for both the Fall 2017 and Winter 2017-18 semesters.

Two student-athletes from each of the eight institutions in the conference were honored for their display of excellence on and off the playing surface.

The Winners for Life team honors a campus citizen that is respected as one who shares and/or demonstrates the ASUN Core Values: Education, Honesty, Student-Athlete Experience, Fairness, Health, Ambition, Respect, Diversity, Inclusion, Leadership, Responsibility, Sportsmanship. To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must have competed in the current academic year in an ASUN sponsored sport and be in good academic standing at his/her university.

Kaleigh Kelley

Kelley has been involved with SAAC as the USC Upstate President for 2017-18 while also serving as ASUN SAAC President the previous season. She has been FCA President the past two seasons and worked with Habitat for Humanity, Miracle League and Spartanburg Soup Kitchen during her career. On the volleyball court, Kelley became the program’s all-time Division I career digs leader this past season with 1,556, finishing second overall in USC Upstate history. She ranked sixth in the ASUN in digs and digs per set as the libero helped the Spartans get back to the ASUN Volleyball Championship.

Riley Popplewell

Popplewell, only a sophomore, has made a tremendous impact in the Spartanburg community since joining USC Upstate. She has worked with Miracle League, Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity among others. She is involved with Bible School and has visited nursing homes in the community. She was honored as the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was named CoSIDA Academic All-District, and contributed 8.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game on the court for the Spartans this season. She posted one double-double against Stetson with 16 points and 13 rebounds.