OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Two WAC women’s volleyball players – Hawai‘i's Kanani Danielson and Utah State's Liz McArthur – are among the 30 student-athletes selected as candidates today for the 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Danielson, the two-time reigning WAC Player of the Year and a three-time All-American, is an interdisciplinary studies major.
McArthur, an honorable mention All-American and the MVP of last year's WAC Tournament, is a family, consumer and human development major.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 2011 candidate class includes nine American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans and eight honorable mention All-Americans from last season. More than half of the 30 have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better. Two of the candidates were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as 2010 Academic All-Americans. Ten of the candidates play for teams ranked in the AVCA preseason top 25 poll. Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award® winner during the 2011 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be played Dec. 15 and 17 in San Antonio.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Volleyball Senior CLASS Award Candidates
Rachael Adams, Middle Blocker, Texas
Kendall Bateman, Setter, Southern California
Suzy Boulavsky, Right Side/Opposite Hitter, Oklahoma
Michelle Burow, Middle Blocker, Northern Iowa
Lane Carico, Outside Hitter, Miami (Fla.)
Kellie Catanach, Setter, Duke
Lucy Charuk, Middle Blocker, Houston
Kanani Danielson, Outside Hitter, Hawai‘i
Sophia Dunworth, Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter, Duke
Kaylie Gibson, Libero, North Carolina
Sarah Havel, Middle Blocker, College of Charleston
Kim Hill, Middle Blocker/Opposite Hitter, Pepperdine
Kristin Hoffman, Setter, Northern Illinois
Mary Elizabeth Hooper, Setter, Wichita State
Alex Hunt, Outside Hitter, Michigan
Kayla Jeter, Outside Hitter, Tennessee
Kelsey Jewasko, Libero, Texas-San Antonio
Liz McArthur, Outside Hitter, Utah State
Kelly Murphy, Setter/Right Side, Florida
Tarah Murrey, Outside Hitter, California
Dana Powell, Outside Hitter, Southern Methodist
Darlene Ramdin, Outside/Middle Hitter, St. John’s (N.Y.)
Jenilee Rathje, Outside/MB, Michigan State
Stacey Schmidt, Right Side/MB, UC Santa Barbara
Tanya Schmidt, Middle Blocker, Santa Clara
Betsy Sedlak, Middle Blocker, UC Davis
Kelsea Seymour, Setter, Southern Mississippi
Regina Thomas, Middle Blocker, Mississippi
Hannah Veith, Middle Blocker, Robert Morris
Vineece Verdun, Middle Blocker, Georgia State