GREENVILLE, S.C. – Conference Carolinas unveiled its 2026 Spring Team Messick Sportsmanship Award winners on Monday morning, honoring the Lees-McRae men's volleyball team.
Lees-McRae men's volleyball finished 2026 at 13-16 overall and 7-7 in Conference Carolinas play. The Bobcats defeated Emmanuel in four sets in the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Championship Quarterfinals and Lees-McRae earned its first postseason victory since 2013. Davide Nicolini was recognized as the Conference Carolinas Men's Volleyball Freshman of the Year and Ben Fincham joined him on the all-conference team.
The Conference Carolinas Directors of Athletics implemented the process by which the Conference Carolinas Messick Sportsmanship Awards are determined. A student-athlete and coach from each institution vote separately upon the sportsmanship of all conference competitors. Each institution then submits those votes to the conference office where the averages are then calculated to decide the winner for each conference-sponsored sport.
The Team Messick Sportsmanship Awards are named after John D. Messick, who was the President of former conference member East Carolina from 1947-59. Messick truly championed sportsmanship and even wrote a book entitled, "Personality and Character Development."
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