See the full release and the First, Second and Third Team Academic All-America listings HERE (PDF).
Note: All members of the 2009 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Volleyball Team listed at the end of this release.
TOWSON, Md. -- Senior outside hitter
Megan Hodge of top-ranked Penn State University and senior middle hitter
Maria Omondi of Columbia (Mo.) College headline the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Hodge and Omondi have been named as the Academic All-America® of the Year in the University and College Divisions, respectively.University Division Academic All-America® honorsWith three first team selections owning a 4.00 G.P.A., the average G.P.A. for the AAA first team is 3.86.Hodge, a business major with a 3.45 grade point average (GPA), is the second consecutive Nittany Lion volleyball player to be named the Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division. In 2008, former teammate Christa Harmotto was selected for the honor. Last fall, Hodge and Harmotto teamed up to lead Penn State to its second consecutive national championship.
A native of Durham, N.C., Hodge has led the top-ranked Nittany Lions to a 30-0 record and their third straight Big Ten Conference championship. A three-time first team All-American as chosen by American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), she leads the Nittany Lions with 436 kills, a 4.69 kill per set average and a .400 hitting percentage. Hodge is ninth in the nation in kills and 10th in hitting percentage.
She has been honored as the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Championship twice after leading Penn State to back-to-back national championships in 2007 and 2008. A three-time All-Big Ten first team selection, she was also a unanimous first team All-Big Ten Preseason choice prior to this season. Last year, Hodge was a second team member of the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball team. She is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Hodge has led Penn State to an amazing 134-5 record during her four-year career. The Nittany Lions have won 94 consecutive matches, dating back to September 15, 2007 when they lost to Stanford at the Yale Classic. In 2008, Hodge led Penn State to a perfect 38-0 record and its second straight national title. As a freshman, Hodge became the first Big Ten volleyball player in history to earn league Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors in the same season. She was the first Big Ten freshman to earn AVCA first team All-America honors and was selected as the AVCA National Freshman of the Year.
Senior
Kori Cooper of Nebraska is the only repeat selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball University Division team.
Senior
Rachael Moss of Duke was named to the first team after earning second team notice in 2008 while
Molly Davis (Southeast Missouri State), a third team selection last year, also earned first team honors.
Seniors
Meagan Dooley of Pittsburgh and
Jessica Boulavsky (Rice) round out the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball University Division first team.
A native of Amarillo, Texas,
Cooper is a four-year starter for the Cornhuskers and is team captain this fall. An AVCA All-American and first team All-Big 12 Conference selection in 2008, she started for two NCAA Semi-Finalist squads, including Nebraska’s national championship team in 2006.
A speech/language pathology major with a 3.81 GPA, Cooper leads the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers (21-6) and is the Big 12 leader with a .369 hitting percentage, averaging 2.44 kills per set. A two-time Academic All-Big 12 first team honoree, she is a volunteer for the Husker Connect Program and Gramercy Hill Retirement Home and is a School is Cool speaker.
A three-time honorable mention AVCA All-American selection,
Moss is a political science major with a 3.94 GPA and a minor in theatre atudies. A first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a junior, she has been named All-ACC three times. In 2006, she was the ACC Freshman of the Year. A native of Cypress, Cal., she led Duke to a share of the 2008 ACC championship. As a senior, she has helped Duke post a 26-5 record and a 16-3 mark in the ACC, good for second place. Averaging 3.3 kills per set with a .255 hitting percentage, she is fifth in the ACC in kills. Moss is also among the ACC leaders with 0.32 service aces per set. A three-time member of the ACC All-Academic team, she ranks among Duke’s top five in digs and service aces.
A sports management major with a minor in business,
Davis has a perfect 4.00 GPA at Southeast Missouri State. The senior libero is the only player in school history with more than 2,000 career digs. The owner of the school record with 39 digs in one match, she was honored as the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week three times. Davis ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders with 5.30 digs per set. A native of Muncie, Ind., Davis is the President of the Red Hawks’ Student Athlete Advisory Council.
Honored as the 2009 Big East Conference Player of the Year,
Dooley has led Pittsburgh to a 20-9 record and a 12-2 Big East mark. A three-time All-Big East selection, Dooley has a double major of liberal studies and special education with a perfect 4.00 GPA. The West Chester, Ohio native also has a minor in children’s literature. A middle hitter, she leads the Big East with 1.51 blocks per set. While averaging 3.85 kills per set, she has a .364 hitting percentage. A first team All-Big East pick, Dooley was the Big East Player of the Week twice.
A psychology and pre-med major with a perfect 4.00 GPA,
Boulavsky has led Rice to a 22-8 record and the Conference USA championship. A solid all-around performer, the Houston, Texas native is averaging 2.26 kills per set with a .278 hitting percentage.
University Division Academic All-America® honorsThe six players on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball College Division team have a 3.85 average GPA.A native of Nairobi, Kenya,
Omondi was named as the American Midwest Conference Player of the Year after leading the Cougars to the conference championship and a 16th consecutive berth in the NAIA national tournament. Her performance in the AMC Tournament earned her MVP honors.
Omondi leads the team in kills (348) and blocks (147) while hitting a team best .420 as the seventh-seeded Cougars enter the NAIA Tournament with an overall record of 40-2.
A biology and chemistry major with a 3.94 GPA, Omondi is a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete. She has been an active member of the Columbia Church of Christ since her freshman year and is involved in the adopt-a-family program during the Christmas season. She volunteers as a reader at the local elementary school and currently is volunteering her time with refugee services, offering her time as a tutor and translator.
Seniors
Alex May of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
Mary Slinger of Concordia-St. Paul were named as first team selections on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Volleyball first team after earning third team honors in 2008.
Senior
Liz Schnelle (Ohio Northern), junior
Jennifer Hefner (Wayne State) and sophomore
Rebecca Kamp (Calvin) round out the first team.
May, a brain and cognitive sciences major with a 3.80 GPA, was recently honored as an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American for the third time. She led MIT to a 27-8 record while recording 409 kills and 300 digs. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, May was selected to the 2009 All-NEWMAC first team. A three-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection, she is a member of the National Honor Society of Collegiate Scholars. May is doing research on genes that affect the plasticity of the brain and plans to attend medical school next fall.
Slinger is a biology major with minors in chemistry and spanish and hold a 3.95 GPA. She is the starting libero for the two-time defending NCAA Division II Golden Bears, who are 34-0 and ranked number one in NCAA Division II. One of eight regional champions, Concordia-St. Paul will be the host for the NCAA Division II national finals (final eight) early in December. A native of Faribault, Minn., Slinger was a second team AVCA All-American in 2008 and was named to the NCAA Division II All-Tournament Team after leading her team to its second straight NCAA title. Named as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Libero of the Year twice, she is averaging 4.83 digs per set.
Selected as the Ohio Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second straight year,
Schnelle led Ohio Northern to a 30-4 record as a senior. An accounting major with a 3.65 GPA, she was also named as an AVCA All-American first team selection for the second time. A native of New Bremen, Ohio, Schnelle finished her career with a school record 2,222 kills while leading the Polar Bears to their fourth straight OAC championship. A two-time All-OAC first team selection, she was honored as the AVCA National Player of the Week five times.
Wayne State College junior middle blocker
Hefner is an applied human and sport physiology major with a 3.96 GPA. A first team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference selection the last two years, she led the 17th-ranked Wildcats to a 29-8 record and an NCAA Division II Tournament appearance this season. A native of Archer, Nebraska, Hefner was named to the All-Tournament team at the Central Regional Tournament. She was the NSIC leader in blocks with 1.22 blocks per match and also ranked among the NSIC leaders with a .326 hitting percentage while also ranking third with 3.72 kills per match.
Only a sophomore,
Kamp was recently named as an AVCA first team All-American for the second time. A secondary mathematics major with a 3.83 GPA, the Orland Park, Ill. native led Calvin to a 28-7 record and an NCAA Division III Tournament berth. Honored as the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Player of the Year twice, this season she averaged 4.14 kills per set with 50 aces and a .337 hitting percentage. She also led the Knights with 1.22 blocks per set. In 2007, she became the first freshman in league volleyball history to be named as the MIAA Player of the Year.
About the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America programTo be eligible for the national team, a student athlete had to have been selected to its District’s first team. Initial nomination criteria at the District level includes being a varsity starter or key reserve, maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, reaching sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by their 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.
ESPN The Magazine - winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized biweekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com or e-mail Dick Lipe, CoSIDA Chair of the Academic All-America® Committee, at rlipe@bentley.edu.
ContactsFOR MORE INFORMATION, contact:Geoff Hassard, SUNY at Oneonta, Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
(hassargj@oneonta.edu)
(607) 436-2106
Dan O’Connell, Towson University, Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair For Publicity/Communications
(doconnell@towson.edu)
(410) 704-3102
2009 ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America® Volleyball Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDAAcademic All-America of the Year: Megan Hodge, Penn StateFIRST TEAMJessica Boulavsky, Rice (VI): Sr. Houston, Tex. ... 4.00 GPA, major(s): psychology, pre-medicine
Kori Cooper *, Nebraska (VII): Sr. Amarillo, Tex. ... 3.81, major(s): speech & language pathology
Molly Davis ***, SE Missouri State (VII): Sr. Muncie, Ind. ... 4.00, major(s): sports management
Meagan Dooley, Pittsburgh (II): Sr. West Chester, Pa. ... 4.00, major(s): liberal studies/special education
Megan Hodge **, Penn State (II): Sr. Durham, N.C. ... 3.45, major(s): business management
Rachael Moss **, Duke (III): Sr. Cypress, Cal. 3.94 major(s): political science
SECOND TEAM(Name, School, District, Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major)Sarah Cline, South Carolina (III): Sr. Rock Hill, S.C. ... 4.00 GPA, major(s): exercise science
Jill Collymore ***, Washington VIII Sr. Bellevue, Wash. 3.77 major(s): Honors psychology/Honors digital arts
Elizabeth Fleming, Marshall (II): Jr. Sound Bend, Ind. ... 4.00, major(s): international affairs
Alix Klineman, Stanford ( VIII): Jr. Manhattan Beach, Cal. ... 3.53, major(s): art
Jill Nyhof, Coastal Carolina (III): Sr. Alpharetta, Ga. ... 4.00, major(s): political science
Chloe Smith, Central Arkansas (VI): Jr. San Diego, Calif. 3.93, major(s): digital filmmaking
THIRD TEAM(Name, School, District, Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major)Sabrina Baby, N.J. Institute of Technology (II): Sr. Florianopolis, Brazil ... 3.91 GPA, major(s): business
JuliAnne Chisholm, Kansas State (VII): Jr. Hillsboro, Kan. ... 4.00 major(s): athletic training/pre-medicine
Lauren Felsing **, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (V): Sr. Hartland, Wis. ... 3.97, major(s): marketing
Angie Porché, Valparaiso (V): Sr. Lynwood, Ill. ... 3.76, major(s): psychology
Sarah Rumely, Kentucky (IV): Sr. New Palestine, Ind. ... 3.63, major(s): kinesiology/exercise science
Caitlin Saxton, Rutgers (II): Jr. Encinitas, Cal. ... 4.00, major(s): sociology
* - ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® 1st team in 2008** - ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® 2nd team in 2008*** - ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® 3rd team in 2008 2009 ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America® Volleyball Team (College Division) as selected by CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year: Maria Omondi, Columbia (Mo.)
FIRST TEAM(Name, School, District, Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major)Jennifer Hefner, Wayne State (VII): Jr. Archer, Neb. ... 3.96 GPA, major(s): applied human & sport physiology
Rebecca Kamp, Calvin (IV): So. Orland Park, Ill. ... 3.83, major(s): secondary education
Alex May ***, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( I): Sr. Des Moines, Iowa ... 3.80, major(s): brain & cognitive Sciences
Maria Omondi, Columbia (Mo.) (VII): Sr. Nairobi, Kenya ... 3.94 major(s): biology/chemistry
Liz Schnelle, Ohio Northern (IV): Sr. New Bremen, Ohio ... 3.65, major(s): accounting
Mary Slinger ***, Concordia-St. Paul (V): Sr. Faribault, Minn. ... 3.95, major(s): chemistry & biology
SECOND TEAM(Name, School, District, Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major)Renata da Silva, California (PA) (II): Sr. Sao Paulo, Brazil ... 3.75 GPAm major(s): international studies
Sara Graf, SW Minnesota State (V): Sr. Mount Pleasant, Iowa ... 3.93, major(s): accounting
Jamie Lancaster, Anderson (S.C.) (III): Jr. Fountain Inn, S.C. ... 4.00, major(s): parks & recreation/sport management
Tricia McCutchan, Case Western (IV): So. Hamilton, Ohio ... 4.00, major(s): biomedical engineering
Maggie McNamara, Concordia-St. Paul (V): Sr. Zumbrota, Minn. ... 3.78, major(s): mathematics
Devon Woolard, Lynn (III): Jr. Delray Beach, Fla. ... 4.00, major(s): business administration
THIRD TEAM(Name, School, District, Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major)Courtney Ambrosch, St. Francis [lll.] (V): Sr. Joliet, Ill. ... 4.00 GPA, major(s): accounting
Lauren Brown, Winona State (V): Sr. Madison, Wis. ... 4.00, major(s): biology
Kelsey Christoferson, Biola (VIII): Sr. Carlsbad, Calif. ...3.98, major(s): mathematics
Emma Jaynes, Saint Benedict (V): Sr. Hibbing, Minn. ... 3.85, major(s): accounting
Morgan Magers, Heidelberg (IV): Sr. Green Springs, Ohio ... 3.97, major(s): education intervention specialist
Kaela Parnell, Hardin-Simmons (VI): Sr. Carrollton, Texas ... 4.00, major(s): pre-medicine/biology
*** ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® 3rd team in 2008