Volleyball Southern Conference

Four SoCon Volleyball Student-Athletes Named to the Academic All-District Three Team

College of Charleston

CHARLESTON, SC- Stephanie Ballard was named to the COSIDA Academic All-District Three University Division Women's volleyball first team that was announced today. The senior posted has a cumulative 3.97 GPA and leads the Cougars in kills this season. Rebecca Wieters was named to the Academic All-District Three second team with a cumulative 4.00 GPA.

"Both of these players exemplify the balance that can exist between success in academics and athletics," said College of Charleston head coach Sherry Dunbar. "These two student athletes demonstrate excellence in the classroom and in athletics and they are role models for our younger student athletes."

Ballard is a senior Corporate Communications major and is a two year captain of the Cougars. Charleston is 24-5 overall this season and 15-1 in the Southern Conference. The team has won a SoCon record 29 consecutive home conference matches. Ballard leads the team with 389 kills this season and ranks fourth in the conference with 4.05 kills per game. The outside hitter needs 50 more digs to become the program's all-time leader in that category and she is also in second place on the school's all-time kill list with 1724 career kills. Ballard was also named to the Academic All-District Three First team in 2002 when the team captured the Southern Conference tournament title and advanced the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

"Athletics provides a structure and it has made me a more organized student" said Ballard. "Working hard in the classroom has become a tradition in our program with the seniors setting the tone for the younger players."

Wieters is a sophomore History major that has posted a 4.00 cumulative GPA and was named to the Academic All-District second team. Wieters is fourth on the team in kills and is second on the team in total blocks with 69 on the season. She recorded 18 kills against Virginia Tech and hit .609 percentage against Western Carolina earlier this season.

The Cougars travel to Western Carolina on
Friday night and Appalachian State on Saturday to wrap up the regular season. The 2003 Southern Conference Tournament gets underway on November 21-23 in Chattanooga, TN.


Georgia Southern

STATESBORO, Ga.- Senior Martina Veiglova was named to the 2003 COSIDA Academic All-District Three University Women's Volleyball First Team which was announced today. Veiglova, who has a 3.48 GPA, leads the Eagles and the Southern Conference in kills per game this season, with 5.79. Teammate Erin Martin was named to the Academic All-District Three third team with a 3.82 GPA.

Veiglova, a Hotel and Restaurant Management major, leads the Eagles in kills per game (5.79), hitting percentage (.358), and service aces (49). She has helped GSU to a 22-9 record, 15-1 in Southern Conference action. The Eagles closed out their home season with a perfect 10-0 season, winning their 13th straight conference win over East Tennessee State. This season, Veiglova tallied her 1,000th career dig, making her only the fourth Eagle to do so. She became only the third Eagle to reach the 1,000 career mark in both kills and digs. She currently ranks second in the GSU record books in career kills, with a total of 1,848, and is second in total attempts, with 4,236. She is ranked third in career digs, with a total of 1,095. Veiglova has amassed the greatest hitting percentage of all-time at Georgia Southern, with a current .328 percentage. Veiglova, who is the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, has been named the SoCon Player of the Week three times this season, and a record nine times over her career.

Martin, a senior Justice Studies major, was named to the Academic All-District third team, with a 3.82 GPA. She will graduate this December, in only three and a half years. Martin tallied her 1,000 career kill earlier this season, in a crucial win over SoCon rival College of Charleston. She is second on the team in kills, averaging 3.22 a game. Martin was named the SoCon Player of the Week earlier this season when she recorded zero errors against Chattanooga.

The Eagles will wrap up the regular season this weekend when they will face Wofford Saturday night and Furman on Sunday.


2003 COSIDA Academic All-District 3 University Division Women's Volleyball Team
FIRST TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Stephanie Ballard College of Charleston Sr. Muncie, IN 3.97 Corporate Communications
Kristen Colson Liberty University Jr. Austin, TX 4.00 Mathematics
Kele Eveland Georgia Tech Sr. Grand Rapids, MI 3.76 Management
Giovana Milaneze Florida Atlantic Sr. Lake Worth, FL 4.00 International Business
Lauren Sauer Georgia Tech Jr. Huntsville, AL 3.61 Management
Martina Veiglova Georgia Southern Sr. Bratislava, Slovakia3.48 Hotel/Restaurant Management

SECOND TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Whitney Ashcroft Univ. of Virginia Sr. Yorktown, IN 3.42 Commerce
Shannon Boyle Univ. of Virginia Sr. Cincinnati, OH 3.45 Latin American Studies
Laura Connell Virginia Commonwealth Sr. Leola, PA 3.82 Nursing
Lauren Moscovic Univ. of Florida Jr. Stockton, CA 3.73 Decision & Information Sciences
Lindsey Remmers Winthrop Univ. Sr. Filley, NE 3.79 Human Nutrition
Rebecca Wieters College of Charleston So. Lakeville, MN 4.00 History

THIRD TEAM
Name School Yr. Hometown GPA Major
Aletha Green Univ. of North Carolina Sr. Poway, CA 3.27 Information Systems/Spanish
Melissa Markowski Virginia Tech So. Glen Ellyn, IL 3.88 Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise
Erin Martin Georgia Southern Sr. San Diego, CA 3.80 Justice Studies
Becky Rudnick Liberty Univ. Jr. Chicago, IL 3.95 Elementary Education
April Shields High Point Univ. Sr. Prince Frederick, MD3.92 Special Education
Elizabeth Tyson Univ. of Miami Jr. Jacksonville, FL 3.54 Political Sciences
Katie Wright Univ. of North Carolina Jr. Atlanta, GA 3.42 Business