NDSU's Joki Voted to Summit League Volleyball Academic All-League Team

ELMHURST, Ill. - With the conclusion of the 2012 Summit League Volleyball Championship, the league has announced its Volleyball Academic All-League Team as voted on by the nine institution's faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors.  A total of six student-athletes were named to the team and honored for their combined athletic and academic performances this season.

Fort Wayne, the 2012 Summit League Champion, led the way with a league-high two selections. North Dakota State, Oakland, Omaha and South Dakota State each placed one honoree on the team.  Four of the six selections were named to one of the all-league teams.

Representing the Mastodons were Hailie Ripley and Megan Steenhuysen.  Ripley, a red-shirt freshman and psychology major, is the only honoree to hold a perfect 4.00 grade-point average (GPA).  The outside hitter was named to the all-freshmen team after finishing the regular season ranked in the league's top-five in two categories, third in blocks (1.02 per set) and fourth in hitting percentage (.322).  Steenhuysen, the 2012 Setter of the Year, an all-league honoree and The Summit League Championship MVP, is a psychology major with a 3.63 GPA.  She helped guide the Mastodons to their second league title and NCAA appearance and leads the league and ranks fifth in the nation in assists (12.16 per set).

North Dakota State's Brynn Joki, an All-League honoree, is a senior outside hitter with a 3.77 GPA in art and apparel design.  She finished the regular season ranked in the league's top-10 in kills and points, averaging 3.49 kills per set and 4.06 points per set.  The fourth all-league team member to be named academic all-league was Oakland's Alli Kirk a sociology major with a 3.58 GPA. The senior defensive specialist was named honorable mention all-league and ranks second in the league and 26^th in the nation in digs with an average of 5.41 per set.

Rounding out the academic all-league team were Omaha's Amy Roberts and South Dakota State's Kelly Herrmann.  Roberts is a senior defensive specialist with a 3.93 GPA in secondary education and Spanish.  She ranks third in the league in service aces (0.28 per set) and eighth in digs (4.19 per set).  Herrmann, a senior outside hitter, holds a 3.91 GPA in political science.   She was third on her team in kills with 219 and tied for third in points, averaging 2.2 points per set.

To be eligible for The Summit League Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.30 (on a 4.0 scale), completed at least one full academic year at the current institution and participated in 50 percent of their team's competitions.  The volleyball all-league team is made up of the six student-athletes receiving the most votes with all ties standing.

Volleyball Academic All-League Team
Kelly Herrmann, South Dakota State
Brynn Joki, North Dakota State
Alli Kirk, Oakland
Hailie Ripley, Fort Wayne
Amy Roberts, Omaha
Megan Steenhuysen, Fort Wayne