ST LOUIS – A program-record five student-athletes from Illinois State's volleyball team were recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference when the league announced its 2014 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team Tuesday.
Kaitlyn Early and Ashley Rosch earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First-Team honors for the second straight year. They were joined on the first team by seniors Emily Orrick and Eliza Smith. Senior Sierra Burris earned honorable mention status.
Early, a senior setter from Wildwood, Missouri, is a math teacher education major and owns a 3.75 grade-point average (GPA). Early has been named to the MVC and AFNI honor rolls and has been a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week selection. On the court, she has played a key role in Illinois State's 2014 MVC regular-season title, with a league-leading 11.18 assists per set.
Rosch, a junior outside hitter from Fox River Grove, Illinois, is a health sciences-environmental health major and owns a 3.74 GPA. Rosch has been named to both the MVC and AFNI honors rolls in each of her first two years at Illinois State. She is a two-time All-MVC First-Team selection and has led the Redbirds in kills in each of her three seasons as a member of the team.
Orrick, a senior libero from Mackinaw, Illinois, is a recreation management major and owns a 3.64 GPA. She has been named to the MVC and AFNI honor rolls in each of her years at Illinois State, and was a 2014 Senior CLASS Award nominee. She was named the MVC's 2013 Libero of the Year and currently leads the MVC in digs, at 5.77 per set. She recorded a career-high 42 digs in a win over Missouri State on Nov. 21, setting Illinois State and Redbird Arena single-match records.
Smith, a senior middle/right-side hitter from Melbourne, Australia, is a public relations major and owns a team-best 3.94 GPA. She has been named to the MVC and AFNI honor rolls in each of her first three seasons as a member of the team. Smith has posted her best season yet in 2014, recording career-best totals in nearly every statistical category. She registered a career-best 12 kills in a win over Northern Iowa on Oct. 17.
Burris, a senior defensive specialist from Mason City, Illinois, is a physical education teaching major and owns a 3.60 GPA. Burris has been named to the MVC and AFNI honor rolls each of the past three years. She recorded a career-best 21 digs in a win over Missouri State on Nov. 21 and has matched her career-high total of three service aces on four separate occasions, including three times in 2014.
A total of 42 student-athletes were nominated for the Valley's scholar-athlete team. Twelve nominees were named to the Scholar-Athlete First Team, with 12 more earning honorable mention accolades. Selections were based on voting by the league's sports information directors.
The criterion for the honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA, on a 4.00 scale. Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of a team's regular-season matches. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore status in both athletic and academic standing at their institution.
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