NCAA Women's Volleyball: Hoffman and McGlaughlin Garner Academic All-MAC Recognition
Junior pair receives accolade for second straight season
DeKALB, Ill. - For the second consecutive season, Northern Illinois volleyball juniors Kristin Hoffman and Allison McGlaughlin received Academic All-Mid-American Conference recognition, the league announced Monday.
With the two selections, the Huskies have had multiple Academic All-MAC honorees in three straight seasons, a feat that had not been achieved in program history. Academic excellence has been a trademark of ninth-year head coach Ray Gooden’s tenure. Prior to his arrival in 2002, NIU had six Academic All-MAC selections and zero ESPN Academic All-District and All-American recipients. Under Gooden, 11 Huskies have received Academic All-MAC recognition, five have been named to the ESPN Academic All-District Team and one (Hoffman in 2010) has been chosen as an ESPN Academic All-American.
With Hoffman and McGlaughlin earning ESPN Academic All-District and Academic All-MAC honors, along with NIU receiving the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the second straight season, Gooden is pleased to see the trend of academic success continue.
“These are great achievements for both Kristin and Allison, who set a great example of what it means to be Huskie student-athletes,” Gooden said. “These two achieve excellence in the classroom and on the court, as well as in the community. I am very proud to see Kristin and Allison represent the volleyball program and Northern Illinois University like this.”
The honor caps a career season for Hoffman, who nearly a month ago became NIU volleyball’s first Academic All-American after being named to ESPN/College Sports Information Directors of America’s (CoSIDA) Third Team. As the primary setter, the Batavia High School (Batavia, Ill.) product also garnered First Team All-Mid-American Conference and First Team ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District V nods. The history major with a 3.95 GPA ranked second in the MAC in assists (11.51/set) and 17th in the nation. She set career-highs of 1,496 assists, 53 kills, 28 aces, 260 digs, 35 blocks and 99.5 points. Her assist total is good for fifth on the NIU all-time single season list as she captained an offense that ranked 33rd in kills (14.01/set) and 34th in hitting percentage (.256).
McGlaughlin also was selected to the First Team ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District V and continued to climb the NIU all-time kills list. The outside hitter set career-highs of 30 assists and 342 digs (2.61/set), ranking second on the team in kills (2.63/set), aces (28) and digs. Along the way, the elementary education major with a 3.95 GPA achieved her 1,000th career kill at Toledo on Oct. 29, marking the 16th Huskies to reach the 1,000-kill plateau. Her 1,086 kills rank 15th on the all-time NIU list. Additionally, the Morton, Ill. (Morton H.S.), native totaled 18 matches with 10 or more kills and 15 matches with 10-plus digs.
The third-year duo is 2-for-2 in earning the award, as freshmen and junior college transfers are not eligible for consideration. In order to qualify, the student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and participate in at least 50 percent of the matches.
