Nov. 9, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. - Last season, Illinois State setter Erin Lindsey's list of individual accolades included being named one of Collegiate Volleyball Update's 14 "National Rising Stars," the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, and collecting honorable mention all-MVC honors. This season, her role has increased, and Thursday she received the first of what may be another long list of individual achievements. Lindsey was named CoSIDA (Corporation of Sports Information Directors of America) third-team Academic All-District.
Lindsey carries a 3.73 grade-point-average in the Illinois State physics curriculum. She was named to the Valley honor roll last spring, and was an AFNI Athletics Honor Roll recipient in the 2005 fall semester.
In two seasons on the court, Lindsey has cemented herself as one of the best setters in program history. She is ISU's career active leader with 2,592 assists, an average of 12.40 assists-per-game, which is the second-best individual average in school history. Her 1,465 set assists last season ranked third in the single-season Redbird record book, and her 13.08 assists-per-game was the ISU best-ever single-season tally.
Through 25 matches this season, Lindsey has compiled 1,127 set assists. She currently ranks fourth in the MVC in set assists per game (11.62).
ISU head coach Sharon Dingman is impressed with Lindsey's combination of success on and off the court.
"This is a really nice honor for Erin," said Dingman. "What she accomplishes on a daily basis is pretty incredible. She is an honors physics student, an active leader on campus, and on the court, is one of the best setters in the country. I'm not sure how much more you could ask of a student-athlete than what we ask of Erin.
"She has had to take on a much greater role this season than she did as a freshman when she had that great season. Not only has she been put into a leadership role, but she has really been forced to run our offense and become a huge part of it this season due to how many young players we have on the court."
Lindsey was honored to be recognized for her dedication to being a student-athlete.
"I'm humbled to receive this honor, because it recognizes how you have to manage your time as a student-athlete," Lindsey said. "There are certainly a lot of things that need to be sacrificed in order to excel both in the classroom and on the court.
"Sharon and I talked at the beginning of the season about me having more of a leadership role, because of the youth of our team. While I am still a young player, I made it a point to embrace being more of a vocal leader in an effort to bridge that gap and help us grow up a bit. I think our team has really adjusted well, especially in the second half of the season."
