College Sports Information Directors of America

2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams release dates: 
College Division Teams: PDF  |  doc
NCAA Division III Teams: PDF  |  doc
NCAA Division II Teams: Wed., Dec. 7 
NCAA Division I Teams: Thurs., Dec. 8 

• Academic All-America® Program Index Page

Sarah Szybist of Rochester Institute of Technology Named Academic All-America® of the Year to Headline the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball Team
 

AUSTIN, Texas – Senior Sarah Szybist of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) headlines the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball Team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
A biomedical sciences major with a 3.94 G.P.A., Szybist is the 2016 CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® of the Year honoree for volleyball. An outside hitter from Colorado Springs, Colo., Szybist is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection in volleyball, earning first team honors in 2015 and third team recognition in 2014.
 
Szybist is a four-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America selection, earning second team honors in 2016, third team accolades in 2014 and AVCA honorable mention All-America recognition in 2015 and 2013. The 2016 Liberty League Player of the Year, she led Division III with 770 kills in 2016, which is a NCAA single-season record, since the 25-point scoring format was adopted in 2008. Overall, Szybist's 770 kills are the most in a season by any individual since 2006. In addition, she ranked second in Division III with 5.07 kills per set and third in the nation with 5.69 points per set.
 
The CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2016-17 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.
 
Of the 18 members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Volleyball teams, 14 of the honorees have a 3.90 G.P.A. or better, with five achieving a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. The six members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America ® Division III volleyball first team maintain an average G.P.A of 3.97.
 
Szybist is joined on the first team by five student-athletes that also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America® recognition in 2015. Three of the six members of this year’s first team squad hold a perfect 4.0 G.P.A.
 
First team selection Karlie DiRuzza of Heidelberg is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America® honoree. She was also a first team selection in 2015. The senior from Massillon, Ohio, is a health science major with a 4.0 G.P.A. DiRuzza picked up her second career All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) recognition at setter this season. She controlled the Heidelberg offense this year with an average of 10.66 assists per set, a mark that ranked seventh in Division III. DiRuzza helped lead Heidelberg to its second-consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance this year.
 
Senior Elizabeth Garrison of Muhlenberg is on the first team this year following a second team selection in 2015. She is a chemistry major from Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, with a 4.0 G.P.A. Garrison, a libero for the Mules, set a new school single-season record this season with 543 digs. She finished her career ranked second on Muhlenberg’s all-time digs list (1,448) and fifth in school history in service aces (160).
 
Senior Tori Wuthrich of MIT joins Garrison and DiRuzza as the three first team members this year with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. Wuthrich, an aerospace engineering major from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, is a repeat selection following second team honors in 2015. A two-time AVCA All-New England Region selection at libero, she led MIT with an average of 5.02 digs per set this season. She is third in program history with 1,975 career digs for the Engineers.  
 
Lauren Holt, a senior from Springfield College (Mass.), is on the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® first team for the second-consecutive season. An athletic training major from Granby, Connecticut, Holt has a 3.94 cumulative G.P.A. at Springfield. A first team AVCA All-America selection in 2016 and 2015, Holt was named the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Volleyball Athlete of the Year and Defensive Athlete of the Year. She led Division III this season with 193 total blocks, the second-consecutive year she has led the country in blocks.
 
First Team selection Michelle Toro of University of Texas at Dallas is on the first team this year following a third team selection in 2016. Toro is a mechanical engineering major from Flower Mound, Texas, with a 3.93 G.P.A. Toro earned her second-consecutive AVCA All-American recognition in 2016, picking up first team honors this season. The 2016 American Southwest Conference (ASC) East Division Most Valuable Player, Toro closed her career with a school-record .317 career hitting percentage. She also set the Comets’ career record for blocks (419) and ranks eighth all-time in kills (1,118).

Second team CoSIDA Academic All-America® honoree Katie Stouffer from Salisbury University is a repeat selection following third team recognition in 2015. The senior from Frederick, Maryland, is an early childhood education major with a 3.96 G.P.A. An AVCA third team All-American, Stouffer was recognized as the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Player of the Year this season. She led the CAC with an average of 4.48 kills per set this season and established Salisbury’s school record for all-time kills (1,747).
 
Junior Jenna Lodewyk of Calvin College, the 2016 Division III Champion, is on the second team this year following a third team selection in 2015. Lodewyk is a business major from Villa Park, Illinois, with a 3.86 G.P.A. Lodewyk earned AVCA second team All-American recognition in 2016, her third career All-America honor. The setter averaged 10.29 assists per set this season and 2.07 digs per set.

Joining Stouffer and Lodewyk on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III volleyball second team is Sara Dyslin of Hendrix; Megan Gebhard of MIT; Lauren Pfeifer of Wisconsin-Whitewater; and Lindsay Schuele of Stockton.
 
Loras College junior Haley Bergan, a third team CoSIDA Academic All-America® selection, has a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. Bergan is an accounting major from Edgewood, Iowa. Karissa Smith of Western Connecticut State, earned third team honors. Smith, a senior psychology major from Bristol, Connecticut, also holds a 4.0 G.P.A. Joining Bergan and Smith on this year’s CoSIDA Academic All-America® Third Team are: Marnae Mawdsley of Springfield College (Mass.); Elmhurst College senior Melissa Nava; Courtney Pharr of Clark (Mass.) and Mallory Sanders of East Texas Baptist.
 
 
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University
Academic All-America® Co-Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications 
Jeff.Schwartz@ndsu.edu
(701) 231-8332          
 
Brett Marhanka, Wheaton College
Academic All-America® Coordinator of Publicity
Brett.Marhanka@wheaton.edu
(630) 752-5747