NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State volleyball senior Kaity Weimerskirch was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Scholar-Athlete of the Year while Sarah Kushner earned First-Team Scholar-Athlete honors, and Kendee Hilliard was named to the Honorable Mention Scholar-Athlete team, as announced by the MVC Monday morning.
The selections were voted on by the conference's 12 sports information directors and nominees had to meet the College Sports Communicator's standards for Academic All-America nomination (3.50 GPA or higher, sophomore and up, played in at least 75% of team's matches). All three Redbirds were named CSC All-District last week.
Weimerskirch, a Brooklyn Park, Minn. native, led the Redbirds with 506 digs, setting a career-high mark of 4.86 digs/set. Weimerskirch was the 2021 MVC Libero of the Year and ranks fifth among Redbirds with 1,767 career digs. Weimerskirch's 4.16 digs/set ranks fourth in program history. She led the Redbirds with 35 service aces in 2022 while setting a career-high mark of 33 digs against Indiana State on 10/14/22. Weimerskirch owns a 4.00 GPA in psychology.
Weimerskirch is the first Redbird to earn MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the award's four-year history. Weimerskirch was MVC First-Team Scholar-Athlete in 2021.
Kushner, a Naperville, Ill. native, battled injury midway through the 2022 campaign, missing five matches and was limited in her final seven matches. Still, the senior ranked second on the team with 191 kills while adding 208 digs and 21 service aces. Kushner became just the seventh Redbird to reach 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, surpassing both marks in the 2022 campaign. Kushner owns a 4.00 GPA in community health promotion.
Kushner was MVC First-Team Scholar-Athlete in 2021.
Hilliard, a West, Texas native, had a career year in 2022. Hilliard sets career-high marks in matches played (28), sets played (95), kills (177), kills/set (1.86), digs (35), and total blocks (28). She had seven matches with double-digit kills and 17 matches with seven-plus kills in 2022. Hilliard owns a 4.00 GPA in her sports management master's program.
Illinois State finished the season 12-17 overall and 5-13 in the MVC, falling short of the MVC Tournament. Illinois State's win over No. 25 Illinois on 9/17/22 is the only win by an MVC school against a top-25 foe in 2022 (1-9).
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