Dec. 12, 2013

East Lansing, Mich. - - Academic honors were announced for the Michigan State volleyball team on Thursday, headlined by senior co-captian Kristen Kelsay (Wheaton, Ill.) being named to the Capital One Academic All-America Team. Kelsay, a psychology major, was named to the third team, one of two Big Ten athletes among the 18 Academic All-America selections.

To qualify for Academic All-America honors, student-athletes must be a of sophomore academic standing, have a GPA of 3.3 or higher, and be a starter or significant contributor to their team.

In addition, Kelsay is among the six MSU volleyball athletes named Academic All-Big Ten. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

Joining Kelsay is senior Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill.), junior Kori Moster (Cincinnati, Ohio), sophomores Maggie Halloran (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Kristen Muir (Plymouth, Mich.), Halle Peterson (Rockford, Mich.).

Kelsay, who boasts a 3.85 grade-point average, is a two-year captain, and has helped lead MSU into the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second straight season. On the court, she has amassed more than 3,000 career assists, good for sixth in the MSU record book. This current senior class has posted the most victories (85) for an MSU team since 2000. In the classroom, she is a two-time Big Ten Distinguished scholar and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten pick, and has twice been MSU's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Kelsay joins Dana Cooke (1995, 1996), Val Sterk (1996) and Jenilee Rathje (2011) as the program's Academic All-America recipients.

Moster is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten pick, while the other four are earning their first Academic All-Big Ten distinction. Wicinski, a senior, is a transfer student, but she earns the honor in her first season of eligibility. Halloran is one of the 20 fall Academic All-Big Ten student-athletes (874 total) who have boast a perfect 4.0 GPA.

"I am very proud of all of our athletes who earned academic honors, and Kristen has achieved something that is very difficult to do," said head coach Cathy George. "With the strength of student-athlete in our sport, Academic All-America honors are very difficult to achieve. Kristen has been a leader in our program since she came in, and set a very good example. Seeing six of our athletes earn Academic All-Big Ten honors is fantastic too - from Maggie [Halloran] having a 4.0, and such a high level of achievement overall, its a nice feather in the cap of our program."

CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® DIVISION I VOLLEYBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM
Name                        School                           Yr.   Hometown                     GPA    Major
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
Name                        School                           Yr.   Hometown                     GPA    Major
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
Name                        School                           Yr.   Hometown                     GPA          Major
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