The 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® volleyball teams are being announced this week (Monday-Thursday, Dec. 12-15). This year, with the expansion of the Capital One program from two teams (University and College Divisions) to four teams (Division I, Division II, Division III and College
Divisions), one divisional team per day will be announced.
Mon., Dec. 12: AAA College Division volleyball teams
Tue., Dec. 13: AAA Division III volleyball teams
Wed., Dec. 14: AAA Division II volleyball teams
Thur., Dec. 15: AAA Division I volleyball teams
LAST TWO WEEKS:
• Announcement of the Capital One Academic All-America® football teams:
Div I/
Div II/
Div III/
College Division
• Announcement of the Capital One Academic All-America® men's & women's soccer teams:
Div I /
Div II /
Div III /
College Division
NEXT UP IN THE CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® program:
Tue., Jan. 3 - Tue., Jan. 17: Academic All-District nomination period for all divisions of men's and women's basketball (nominations close at 6 p.m. EASTERN on Jan. 17)
2011 Capital One Academic All-America Volleyball College Division Volleyball Team - PDF
(1st, 2nd and 3rd teams selected)
TOWSON, Md. – Junior setter Paula Ferreira of Columbia (Mo.) College leads the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Volleyball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Ferreira, who has a 4.0 grade point average (G.P.A.) as an international business major, was chosen as the winner of the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year award.
The Capital One College Division Academic All-America® volleyball team is comprised of student-athletes from NAIA, Canadian and two-year institutions.
Ferreira, a junior setter, earned NAIA All-America honors for the third consecutive time. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native was a third-team All-American as a freshman and has been a first-team selection the past two seasons. She was also named as the NAIA National Player of the Year as a sophomore.
For the second year in a row, Ferreira was honored as the 2011 American Midwest Conference Setter and Player of the Year. She was named as the National Player of the Week twice this year and led the Cougars with 1,450 assists, averaging 11.33 per set. She also had 195 kills, 44 service aces, 60 blocks and 291 digs while helping Columbia to a 39-4 record and a berth in the semi-finals of the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
The seven members of the Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Volleyball first team have an average G.P.A. of 3.93.
Ferreira was one of three players on the Capital One Academic All-America® Volleyball first team to compete in the recently completed NAIA National Championship Tournament held in Sioux City, Iowa.
Senior outside hitter Kelsey Pritchard led No. 15 Taylor University and
senior outside hitter Ciciley Fox led No. 7 College of Idaho into the national tournament.
A history and international studies major with a 3.67 G.P.A.,
Pritchard was an NAIA All-America first-team selection in 2011 after earning second team honors twice. Pritchard, the 2010 and 2011 Mid-Central College Conference Player of the Year, was named to the all-conference first team each of the last four years. She ranked fourth in the NAIA this season with 567 kills and finished her career with 2,310 kills, the second highest total in school history. Named as the AVCA NAIA Mideast Region Co-Player of the Year, Pritchard led Taylor to a 31-9 record and a final No. 15 NAIA national ranking. As a senior, she had 406 digs to go along with 53 blocks.
Fox led No. 7 College of Idaho to its best-ever finish as the Yotes (27-5) reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament. A health science major with a 3.92 G.P.A., she led the Yotes with 382 kills while earning All-Cascade Conference first team notice for the second time. Fox had a .244 hitting percentage with 127 digs and 38 total blocks. A native of Challis, Idaho, she was a four-time CCC Player of the Week selection.
A biology major with a 3.98 G.P.A.,
senior middle hitter Karie Altman of Madonna University helped lead her squad to a 30-10 record as the Crusaders advanced to the semi-finals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament. Honored as a third team NAIA All-American as a senior, she was named as a first team All-WHAC pick twice. As a senior, Altman led the WHAC in attack percentage (.385) and kills per set (4.1) while ranking third in total kills (456) and fourth in blocks per set (0.9). Her hitting percentage was the fourth best in the NAIA while she ranked ninth in kills per set.
Junior outside hitter Lindsey Oberacker led Point Park University to a 36-6 record and a berth in the NAIA national tournament. A biology major with a 3.94 G.P.A., she was an honorable mention NAIA All-American. Oberacker was also named to the AVCA All-Northeast Region first team and the All-American Mideast Conference first team. Named as the AMC Player of the Year, Oberacker ranked fifth in the NAIA with 556 total kills. While averaging 3.92 kills per set, she ranked 18th nationally. She led the Pioneers with a .318 hitting percentage, 378 digs, 110 blocks and 58 service aces. She was named all-conference three times.
Park University senior libero Vanessa Lawrenz led Park to a 22-11 mark and to the semi-finals of the American Midwest Conference Tournament this year. Lawrenz has a double major in finance and marketing with a 4.00 G.P.A. She finished eighth in the NAIA with 5.94 digs per set and 20th in the nation with 695 total digs. One of the most decorated defensive players in program history, Lawrenz is the Pirates’ single season leader in digs. In her career, Lawrenz had 1,176 digs, the sixth-highest total in Park history. A native of Erie, Pa., she was honored as the 2011 AMC Libero of the Year.
Junior setter Desiree Erikson of Doane College has a double major in biology and chemistry with a 3.99 G.P.A. An honorable mention All-Great Plains Athletic Conference selection, she led the Tigers to a 29-6 record and the finals of the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament. A native of Comstock, Neb., Erikson posted 1,062 assists, 282 digs and 27 service aces.
Senior Jessica Cooper and junior Leslie Welch of Shorter University lead the Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Volleyball second team.
Seniors Betsy Brown (Taylor),
Yiting Cao (Spring Hill) and
Marguerite Hanna of Asuza Pacific round out the second team.
Selected to the Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Volleyball third team were
Taylor University junior Ali Swart who gives Taylor three players on the Academic All-America® College Division teams.
Seniors Stephanie Kruggel of Dakota State,
Sarah Smith of Lee and
Joy Talcott of Biola were also named to the College Division Volleyball third team. J
uniors Kendra Fiddler of Milligan and
Lauren Percival of Mount Vernon Nazarene complete the third team.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (
www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $122.2 billion in deposits and $197.5 billion in total assets outstanding as of December 31, 2010. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. has approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In 2010, Capital One launched the Capital One Cup, a prestigious new program rewarding NCAA Division I athletics programs for their cumulative on-field performance across multiple men’s and women’s sports. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot Team, all 88 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
About CoSIDA's Capital One Academic All-America® program
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 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.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit
http://cosida.com/Awards/allamerica.aspx.
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Capital One Academic All-America® College Division Volleyball Teams, please contact:
Dan O’Connell
Towson University
Academic All-America® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
doconnell@towson.edu
(410) 704-3102
Michael McEachern
Young Harris College
mfmaceachern@yhc.edu
(706) 379-5106