NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State volleyball student-athletes Nicole Lund and Sarah Kushner have been selected as recipients of the Janyth Aellig and Linda Herman Endowed Scholarships, respectively.
Janyth Aellig Endowed Scholarship Recipient // Nicole Lund // Sophomore // Middle Blocker // Rochester, Minnesota
In her first full season with the Redbirds, Nicole Lund saw action in all 22 matches in 2020-21, earning a starting role as a middle blocker. For her efforts during conference play, Lund landed a spot on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team. Her presence at the net defensively helped ISU hold its opponents to a league-best .156 hitting percentage, as she led the team in total blocks (89), solo blocks (15) and block assists (74). Lund finished the year with 146 kills, posting career-high kill figures against Evansville and Valparaiso while recording a season-high nine kills on five different occasions.
Named after an avid and longtime Redbird supporter, the Janyth Aellig Endowed Scholarship was established in 1997, when Fred, husband of the late Janyth Aellig, funded the endowment with the help of more than 50 friends and family.
Linda Herman Endowed Scholarship Recipient // Sarah Kushner // Junior // Outside Hitter // Naperville, Illinois
An All-MVC Second Team selection in 2020-21, Sarah Kushner has played in all 56 matches in two seasons with the Redbirds. The Naperville, Illinois, native led the team and the Valley in service aces per set (0.43) last season, delivering at least one ace in all but five matches. In 2019, she delivered 37 service aces, which was the third most in a single season by a freshman in program history. She's turned in 16 career double-doubles, which included an impressive 14 kill-20 dig performance against Bradley in the spring of 2021. For her success in the classroom, Kushner was presented with the league's Elite 17 Award at the 2020-21 MVC Volleyball Championship and she landed a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention squad.
The scholarship, which is awarded annually to a Redbird volleyball student-athlete, was created in honor of former volleyball coach and interim athletics director Dr. Linda Herman in September 2005. Rose Stadel, the widow of Joe Warner, handed over the proceeds from the 2005 Joe Warner Memorial Golf Classic to initiate funds for the endowment. The late Warner spent three decades as a prominent business and community leader in central Illinois before his tragic death in a 2002 plane crash. He was an avid Redbird fan and supporter.
Herman was one of Illinois State's most influential administrators. She was named the 1995 National Associate of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) District V Administrator of the Year, and was also the recipient of the Bloomington/Normal YWCA Women of Distinction Award for outstanding leadership and excellence in education in 1997. Herman spent seven years as the head Redbird volleyball coach, and served four separate stints as ISU's interim athletics director. She was inducted into the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame in September 2005, and in December 2003, was inducted into the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) inaugural Hall of Fame class. Herman is also a member of the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, as she was given the Lifetime Achievement distinction in 2014.
This endowed scholarship is one of 33 available to Illinois State student-athletes that are funded by private donors. For more information about establishing or contributing an endowed scholarship, please call the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund office at (309) 438-3803. To read about each current endowment in more detail, visit the WSF website at www.weisbeckerscholarshipfund.com.
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