Senior right-side hitter Dianna Thomas (Mobile, Ala./McGill-Toolen Catholic) has earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-America honors, as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Thomas has been named First Team Academic All-District each of the past two years.

Thomas recorded 395 kills, 306 digs and 86 blocks as she helped lead the Mountaineers to a second-place finish in the Southern Conference this season. She hit .255 and became the school’s all-time kills leader with 1,476.

Along the way, Thomas was named the SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week on October 31 and was named second team all-conference at season’s end. The right side hitter will graduate in May with a degree in exercise science, and has held a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average.

Appalachian head coach Matt Ginipro said of the award, “I am so happy for Dianna. To be named an Academic All-American is a huge honor and she should be proud of this achievement. Dianna epitomizes the definition of ?student-athlete’ and proves that you can be successful in both the academic and athletic arenas. She has had an amazing college career, on the court and in the classroom, and this is a great award for her to finish up with. I have no doubt that she will continue to do great things after she leaves Appalachian State.”

Thomas is the first Mountaineer to earn the honor since Meagan Farrell (women’s soccer) was named to the second team in 2005. She is the first volleyball player from Appalachian to be honored, and the seventh Mountaineer overall to be named to an Academic All-American.

Thomas, along classmates Lorelle Rau and Brittany Zahn, led the team to a 19-14 record, 14-4 in conference play.

A complete list of this year’s winners can be found at CoSIDA.com.