McNeese State Volleyball
Sarah Cartie Named To The Southland Conference All-Academic Team
FRISCO, Texas--- McNeese State senior setter Sarah Cartie has been named to the 2009 Southland Conference Volleyball All-Academic Team as released by the league office today.
Cartie is a native of Meadows Place, Texas was named to the second team after posting a 3.17 GPA in Exercise Science.
The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
Cartie led the Cowgirls in assists for the fourth consecutive year with 1,008. It is also the fourth consecutive year that she recorded over 1,000 assists. Cartie finished her career with 4,339 assists and 1,191 digs. She is only the second McNeese player to record over 4,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs. She ranks third on McNeese’s all-time career assists leaders and seventh on the all-time digs list.
In her final year, Cartie recorded 40 or more assists in nine matches and 10 or more digs in 10 matches. She dished out a single match high 48 against Sam Houston State and ranked third in the league with 9.42 per set.
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Spreen Named Academic All-Southland
FRISCO, Texas- Nicholls State University senior volleyball player Rachel Spreen capped her final season in Thibodaux with academic all-conference honors, as the Houston native was named to the Southland Conference All-Academic Second Team, the league office announced on Thursday.
Spreen holds a 3.667 GPA in her final year as a Business Administration major and serves as Nicholls' Student Athlete Advisory Committee President.
On the court, Spreen led the Southland Conference, and finished 73rd in the nation with a 0.37 ace/set average. The outside hitter proved her toughness by playing the back row all season despite battling a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder.
Spreen recorded five double-doubles on the season: Aug. 29 (vs. Houston Baptist), Sept. 1 (vs. Southern Miss), Sept. 5 (vs. Alabama A&M and vs. Kennesaw St.), and Sept. 19 (at Prairie View A&M), and recorded a season-best six aces (tied for the best total in the conference) against KSU on Sept. 5. The senior posted five matches with ten or more kills, 12 matches with double-digit digs and seven matches with three or more aces.
Spreen led Nicholls to its second consecutive conference tournament appearance, and a trip to the semifinals. The Colonels, who appeared in the 2008 conference tournament, made the conference tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history. Their first round upset win over No. 2 seed Sam Houston State was Nicholls' first official win at the league tournament in school history.
SMITH NAMED STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR, FIVE NAMED ALL-ACADEM IC
FRISCO, Texas- University of Central Arkansas junior Chloe Smith was named the Capital One Bank/Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Thursday in conjunction with the release of the All-Academic Volleyball Teams.
Smith, a native of San Diego, Calif., is the first player in Southland history named both league player of the year and student-athlete of the year in two consecutive seasons.
A Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, Smith maintains a 3.93 grade-point average in digital filmmaking. Smith led Central Arkansas to its first perfect season in conference play (16-0) and ranked 17th in the NCAA setting a school record with 4.46 kills per set. She holds Central Arkansas' career record with 3.86 kills per set and is second in career kills with 1,256. Smith ranked third in the league in kills (442), ninth in hitting percentage (.280) and received four player of the week awards during the 2009 season.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 12 member schools, voted for the student-athlete of the year. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to the one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
UCA led all teams with five All-Academic selections including four first-team members. Joining Smith on the first-team was was sophomore libero Cristin Curl, senior setter Robyn Smith and senior middle blocker Evaree Franklin. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Hays was a second team selection.
Curl, of Amarillo, Texas, was a ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District second team and a All-Southland second team selection. She led the Southland with 4.63 digs per set. Curl has a 3.83 GPA in business managment.
Robyn Smith, of Lubbock, Texas, was selected to the All-Academic first team for the third consecutive year. She led the league and ranked in the top 20 nationally with 11.45 assists per set, earning the league Setter of the Year honors. She holds UCA's career assist record with 5,148. Smith has a 3.70 GPA in physical therapy.
Franklin, of Sweeny, Texas, was a first team All-Southland selection, leading the league with a .350 hitting percentage and averaging 2.11 kills per set. Franklin has a 3.12 GPA in health education.
Hays, of Friendswood, Texas, earns her first All-Academic team honors. She averaged 2.88 kills and 2.83 digs per set and ranked fourth in the Southland with 0.33 aces. Hays has a 3.48 GPA in health science.
The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
Chloe Smith Named Capital One Bank/Southland Conference
Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year
Chloe Smith is the first player to win both league player of the year and student-athlete
of the year awards in two consecutive seasons
FRISCO, Texas - Central Arkansas junior Chloe Smith was named the Capital One Bank/Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Thursday in conjunction with the release of the All-Academic Volleyball Teams.
Smith, a native of San Diego, Calif., is the first player in Southland history named both league player of the year and student-athlete of the year in two consecutive seasons.
A Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Smith maintains a 3.93 grade-point average in digital filmmaking. Smith led Central Arkansas to its first perfect season in conference play (16-0) and ranked 17th in the NCAA setting a school record with 4.46 kills per set. She holds Central Arkansas’ career record with 3.86 kills per set and is second in career kills with 1,256. Smith ranked third in the league in kills (442), ninth in hitting percentage (.280) and received four player of the week awards during the 2009 season.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 12 member schools, voted for the student-athlete of the year. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to the one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
Central Arkansas leads all teams with five All-Academic selections including four first-team members. UT Arlington has three selections, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin and UTSA each have two selections and McNeese State, Nicholls, Northwestern State and Sam Houston State received one selection apiece.
Automatic selections include CoSIDA Academic All-District VI selections and those who received first-team all-conference honors. This year, 10 members on the first-team all-academic squad were automatic selections leaving eight open positions to be filled by vote.
The Southland landed six CoSIDA Academic All-District VI members. Joining Smith on the first-team was Stephen F. Austin junior Laurel Kuepker. Central Arkansas sophomore Cristin Curl was selected to the second-team and Northwestern State senior Yelena Enwere, Lamar senior Adrianne Meengs and Stephen F. Austin senior Sydney Milburn received third-team recognition.
The four remaining automatic selections were first-team all-conference recipients – Sam Houston State senior Anna Ferguson, Central Arkansas seniors Robyn Smith and Evaree Franklin and UT Arlington sophomore Tara Frantz.
Eight members are returning All-Academic selections. Yelena Enwere and Robyn Smith lead all players with their third consecutive all-academic appearance. Chloe Smith, Laurel Kuepker, Adrianne Meengs, Anna Ferguson, UTSA junior Kendra Rowland and UT Arlington junior Christy Driscoll each make their second all-academic appearance.
Among the 18 student-athletes selected for academic recognition, 12 have GPAs of 3.5 or higher. Kuepker boasts the only 4.00 GPA.
The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
Included in Capital One Bank’s support of the Southland Conference Academic Awards Program is the F.L. McDonald Postgraduate Scholarship, the All-Academic Teams, the Student-Athlete of the Year, the Scholar-Athlete award and the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
2009 Southland Conference Volleyball All-Academic Teams
First Team
Name
Chloe Smith^, %, 1, 2 Central Arkansas Jr. Outside Hitter San Diego, Calif. 3.93 Digital Filmmaking
Laurel Kuepker1, 2 Stephen F. Austin Jr. Setter LaPorte, Ind. 4.00 Liberal/Social Studies
Cristin Curl1, 2 Central Arkansas So. Libero Amarillo, Texas 3.83 Business Management
Yelena Enwere1, 3 Northwestern State Sr. Outside Hitter Stafford, Texas 3.80 Health & Human Perform.
Adrianne Meengs1, 2 Lamar
Sydney Milburn1 Stephen F. Austin Sr. Libero/DS Houston, Texas 3.88
Anna Ferguson1, 2 Sam Houston State Sr. Middle Blocker Dallas, Texas 3.46 Academic Studies
Robyn Smith1, 3 Central Arkansas Sr. Setter Lubbock, Texas 3.70 Physical Therapy
Evaree Franklin1 Central Arkansas Sr. Middle Blocker Sweeny, Texas 3.12 Health Education
Tara Frantz1 UT Arlington So. Outside Hitter Santa Fe, Texas 3.48
Kelsey Jewasko UTSA
Kendra Rowland2 UTSA
Second Team
Name
Christy Driscoll2 UT Arlington Jr. Middle Blocker Keller, Texas 3.92 Exercise Science
Bianca Sauls UT Arlington Jr. Outside Hitter Pflugerville, Texas 3.68
Lauren Holdorff Lamar
Sarah Cartie McNeese State Sr. Setter Meadows Place, Texas 3.17 Exercise Science
Jessica Hays Central Arkansas So. Outside Hitter Friendswood, Texas 3.48 Health Science
Rachel Spreen Nicholls
^ 2009 Southland Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year
% CoSIDA Academic All-American
1 Automatic all-academic selection
2 Two-time all-academic selection
3 Three-time all-academic selection
