OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - College of Charleston senior middle blocker Sarah Havel was named one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced Wednesday.

The annual award honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the court. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in August. Nationwide voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on either the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award web site or the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through November 21. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner. The overall winner will be announced during the 2011 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be played December 15 and 17 in San Antonio.

As an education major, Havel has maintained a GPA of 3.28, earning a spot on the 2010-11 Southern Conference Honor Roll.

A native of Carmel, Ind., Havel went on medical missionary trips to Honduras through the L.A.M.B. Institute in 2010 and 2011, providing medical aid to poverty-ridden areas. She traveled with teammate and close friend Hayley Harrell as the two girls, along with Harrell's sister, Jamie, helped treat 617 people in three days of clinics in Tegucigalpa. For their work, the trio was featured in the July edition of Volleyball Magazine and on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website.

“I’m very proud of Sarah for being recognized for this award,” head coach Jason Kepner said. “She has been an exceptional representative of College of Charleston volleyball and our school, on and off the court. She is an outstanding student-athlete, leader and citizen of the wider community. She has worked extremely hard over the last three and a half years to grow as a volleyball player and person, and I can’t be more proud of where she is today. I’m very happy that she has been recognized for this award for all the work she has done.”

Havel has been an emotional and physical leader on the court in 2011. As a middle blocker, she leads the team in solo blocks (19) and total blocks (84), averaging 0.97 blocks per set, which currently ranks fourth in the Southern Conference. Havel has also tallied 216 kills this season with a hitting percentage of .260.

Havel was selected to the Mortar Board Premier and Georgia State Invitational All-Tournament teams after outstanding performances in the season’s opening tournaments. Her seven blocks against Wyoming (Sept. 17) tied a season-best output and helped spur the Cougars to a 3-1 match victory and the Hampton Inn Invitational title over a very strong non-conference opponent.

In August, Havel was selected to the All-Southern Conference preseason team. In 2010, she was named First Team All-Southern Conference and selected for the SoCon All-Tournament team. She was picked as the October Player of the Month and twice named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week. In 2009, Havel was named Second Team All-Conference and selected for the All-Tournament team. She is currently ranked fifth all-time at CofC with 408 career blocks.