Complete 2007 ESPN the Magazine Volleyball Academic All-America® Teams NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Senior outside hitter Sarah Pavan of the University of Nebraska and senior middle hitter Kelly Downs of Elizabethtown College (Pa.) head the 2007
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Pavan, a native of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, was voted as the Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division for the second year in a row. She was chosen to the Academic All-America® squad as a first-team selection for the third consecutive year. Pavan, who has a 4.00 cumulative grade point average in biochemistry, is one of the most decorated volleyball athletes in NCAA history. She won the Honda-Broderick Cup and was the Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year in 2006-07.
Pavan, a senior right side hitter, has led the Cornhuskers to a 26-1 record and a No.2 ranking in the latest AVCA national poll. She is currently averaging 4.90 kills, 1.91 digs and 0.76 blocks, plus has a .340 hitting percentage. A three-time AVCA first-team All-American, Pavan earned the 2006 NCAA Most Outstanding Player award in leading her team to the national championship.
Joining Pavan on the University Division Academic All-America first team were Abbey Breit (Jacksonville State), Christina Houghtelling (Nebraska), Danielle Meyer (Ohio State), Rachel Shanks (Auburn) and Tracy Stalls (Nebraska).
Breit, a senior middle blocker/outside hitter with a 3.89 GPA in chemistry, and Meyer, a senior middle blocker with a 3.98 GPA in textiles and clothing, were second-team selections one year ago. Shanks, a senior outside hitter with a 4.0 GPA in pharmacy, made the national third team.
Downs, the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year, helped lead her team to a 32-7 record, the school’s first conference championship and first NCAA Division III tournament bid since 1986. She led her team and the conference in kills with a school-record total of 511. She also led the team and conference in hitting percentage (.378) and blocks (181). She finished her career as Elizabethtown’s career leader in kills (1,532) and blocks (585). The Airville, Pa., native was a second-team Academic All-America® selection in 2006. She has maintained a perfect 4.00 grade point average at Elizabethtown, where she is majoring in occupational therapy. She is one of eight members of the College Division Academic All-America® Team with a 4.00 GPA.
Completing the College Division Academic All-America first team were Mallory Clements (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville), Melissa DeLuca (Wingate, N.C.), Mandy Gerolstein (South Carolina-Aiken), Amanda Morris (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Jori Simmons (Carthage College, Ill.). Simmons was a third-team selection in 2006.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
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For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit
www.cosida.com or e-mail
rlipe@bentley.edu.