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CROW CHOSEN AS LSC ACADEMIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
 DENTON, Texas (November 12) – Texas Woman’s University setter Jessica Crow has been named the 2008 Lone Star Conference Volleyball Academic Player of the Year.
Crow, a Longview native, is a junior interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.92 cumulative grade point average (GPA). She has been the Pioneers’ starting setter since stepping on campus in the fall 2006. Over the course of her three-year career, she has piled up 2,662 assists and averaged 9.75 assists per set. Despite missing seven matches this season because of injury, Crow is leading the Pioneers with 712 assists and 8.48 assists per set. The Pine Tree High School graduate has ten double-doubles (in assists and digs) to her credit this year and has tallied more than 30 assists in 14 of her 19 matches started.
Crow (pictuerd) is the first TWU volleyball player to win the LSC Academic Player of the Year award. This is the second year in a row that she has earned a spot on the LSC All-Academic team. She is also a two-time (2007, 2008) member of the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI College Division Volleyball team.
Five other Pioneer players – defensive specialist Kendra Coulson, right side Sharon Schaffner, middle blocker Kandis Schroeder, outside hitter Katie King, and outside hitter Danielle Veitenheimer – also received All-Academic honors from the LSC. Coulson, Schaffner, and Schroeder joined Crow on the All-Academic team while King and Veitenheimer were selected for the 2008 LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Coulson is a sophomore paralegal major with a perfect 4.00 GPA. The former Abilene High School star has made the most of her first season as the Pioneers’ starting libero. She leads TWU this year with 474 digs and 28 service aces. Her season-high for digs in a match is 29 (on Friday, Sept. 5, vs. Ouachita Baptist) and she has recorded 20 or more digs in 11 of her 31 matches played. This is Coulson’s first LSC academic award; she was recognized last week as a 2008 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI College Division second team choice.
Schaffner, a product of Henrietta, is a senior psychology major with a 3.94 cumulative GPA. She has played in 379 games wearing a Pioneer uniform and has been amongst the TWU team leaders for the last three seasons in kills, attacks, set assists, digs, and service aces. This year she is second on the Pioneer roster in kills (228), total attacks (687), points (256.5), and digs (357). She also has 64 assists and 43 block assists to her credit. This is the third consecutive year that Schaffner has garnered scholastic accolades from the LSC. In 2007 she was tabbed for the LSC All-Academic team and in 2006 she was named to the LSC North Division Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Schaffner was also a 2008 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI College Division first team honoree.
Schroeder is a senior mathematics major with a perfect 4.00 GPA. The Windthorst native is one of the most highly-decorated players in the history of TWU volleyball. In 2007, she was honorable mention AVCA All-Southwest Region, a LSC All-Conference first team selection, and a member of the LSC Volleyball Championship All-Tournament team. In 2006, she was an All-LSC North Division second team choice and earned a spot on the LSC All-Tournament team. As freshman in 2005 she was tabbed as the LSC Freshman of the Year. Schroeder leads the Pioneers this season in attack percentage (.301) and block assists (53). Her 63 total blocks are tied for the team lead. She is second on the team in block solos (10). Her 157 kills are the fourth-most on the TWU roster. This is the third year in a row that Schroeder has been named to the All-LSC Academic team. She is also a two-time (2007, 2008) member of the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI College Division team.
King, a general studies major with a 3.45 GPA, was also a member of the 2007 LSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The senior from Kaufman was a 2007 All-Lone Star Conference first team choice. This season, she leads TWU in kills (287), kills per game (2.90) total attacks (865), points (325.5) and points per game (3.29).
Veitenheimer is a sophomore communication sciences major with a 3.56 GPA. After seeing limited playing time as a freshman in 2007, the Windthorst product has emerged as a capable attacker this season for the Pioneers. She is fourth on the team in kills (166) and points per set (2.02). She also has 23 total blocks this year.
To be eligible for LSC academic honors, student-athletes need at least a 3.20 grade point average and must be at least a sophomore. All academically qualified student-athletes not selected for the All-Academic team are then named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The All-Academic team is selected by the league’s Sports Information Directors, who vote on the basis of both academic and athletic achievement.
The Pioneers’ academic award haul was the largest of any of the conference’s 14 volleyball teams. West Texas A&M had four players chosen for the All-Academic team and one player put on the Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
The Pioneers will be in action this weekend at the 2008 LSC Volleyball Championship being played in Canyon, Texas at West Texas A&M University. TWU’s first match of the eight-team postseason tournament will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, versus Midwestern State University. |
