2013 Capital One Academic All-America® Volleyball Team (PDF)

TOWSON, Md. -- Eastern Illinois senior middle hitter Stephanie Arnold (Oregon, Wis.) has been named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America® Volleyball Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) this afternoon (Dec. 12).

Arnold joins Natalie Hagglund (USC), Camila Jersonsky (Auburn), Shelby Kintzel (UNI), Sallie McLaurin (Oklahoma), and Academic All-American of the Year Katie Slay (Penn State) with prestigious First Team accolades.

This marks the tenth time that a Panther student-athlete has earned First Team Academic All-America recognition, and the first such honor by an EIU volleyball player since former standout Erica Gerth (2001-04) also nabbed First Team kudos back in 2004.

Through the years, five Eastern volleyball players have earned six all-time Academic All-America honors – Arnold (1st Team/2013), Gerth (1st Team/2004 & 3rd Team/2003), Vanessa Wells (2nd Team/1996), Donna Sicher (3rd Team/1989), and Laura Bruce (3rd Team/1986).

Arnold recently earned a spot on the All-Ohio Valley Conference squad following her fine senior play, as she helped lead the Panthers to an 18-12 overall mark and 12-4 conference finish en route to the OVC West Division title and overall second place tie in the league race.

The fifth-year senior owns a perfect a 4.0 GPA, as she is set to earn her EIU degree in biological sciences, with additional minors in both Spanish and chemistry.

This past fall season, she led her squad in hitting (.339), behind 294 kills (2.51 kills-per-set) and a team-best 122 total blocks (1.04 blocks-per-set).  She finished the year with a pair of OVC Top 10 marks, including second-best numbers for both attacks and blocks.  As a team, EIU led the league in hitting, kills, and assists, while also owning the second-best tally for all-time blocks.

In October, Arnold earned a career-high .810 attack in EIU's road sweep of league rival Murray State, as she nailed 17 kills off just 21 attacks with zero errors.  That mark ranks No. 3 all-time and sits as the best clip by a full-time attacker in school history, in addition to also ranking in the OVC Top 10 for single-match performances.

A three-time OVC 'Player of the Week' honoree, Arnold ends her EIU career as one of the top all-time Panther attackers and blockers, ranking No. 5 for career attack (.268), No. 4 in assisted blocks (314), and No. 6 in total stuffs (373).  During the current OVC-only era (1996-present), she owns the second best block assist tally, while also ranking No. 3 in attack %, solo blocks, and blocks-per-set.

In addition to her recent CoSIDA Academic All-District V kudos this fall, she has previously garnered 2012 OVC Scholar-Athlete recognition, in addition to being a multi-year member of the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll, which includes numerous Medal of Honor certificates.

2013 ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® DIVISION I VOLLEYBALL TEAM
(Name, School, Year, Hometown, GPA, Major)

Academic All-American of the Year:  Katie Slay, Penn State

FIRST TEAM 
STEPHANIE ARNOLD, Eastern Illinois, Sr., Oregon, Wis., 4.00, Biological Sciences
Natalie Hagglund, Southern California, Sr., Encinitas, Calif., 3.59, Communications
Camila Jersonsky, Auburn, Sr., Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3.86, Engineering (Dbl. Major)
Shelby Kintzel, Northern Iowa, Sr., Mount Vernon, Iowa, 4.00, Elem. Ed., Math. Literacy Ed.
Sallie McLaurin, Oklahoma, Sr., Midwest City, Okla., 3.73, Health & Exercise Science
Katie Slay, Penn State, Sr., Raleigh, N.C., 3.64, Comm. Sciences & Disorders

SECOND TEAM
Emma Deininger, Radford, Jr., Wallingford, Pa., 4.00, Accounting Finance
Becca Haraf, Liberty, Sr., Arlington Heights, Ill., 4.00, Biology, Pre-Med
Ayesha Hein, U.S. Air Force Academy, Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii, 3.99, Astronautical Engineering
Annika Foit, LIU Brooklyn, Jr., Hausach, Germany, 3.97, Chemistry
Elizabeth Koberstein, Marquette, Sr., Madison, Wis., 3.77, Nursing
Macy Ubben, Northern Iowa, Sr., Ackley, Iowa, 3.93, Biology & Biochemistry

THIRD TEAM
Courtney Cohen, Troy, Sr., Woodstock, Ga., 3.96, Biomedical Sciences
Kristen Kelsay, Michigan State, Sr., Wheaton, Ill., 3.85, Psychology
Ali McCurdy, Duke, Sr., Tampa, Fla., 3.43, Sociology
Brieanna Merriwether, North Carolina State, Sr., Orlando, Fla., 3.98, Biological Sciences
Veronica Munkeby, North Dakota, Gr., Lisbon, N.D., 4.00, Exer. Science (UG); General(G)
Bailey Webster, Texas, Gr., Baltimore, Md., 3.43, Advertising
Chelsea Wintzinger, Auburn, Sr., Huntsville, Ala., 3.93, Pharmacy

About the 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 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID