AUSTIN, Texas – Allison Penner (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) earned second team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors for her performance on the court and in the classroom this season. Penner is the second CoSIDA Academic All-American in UNCG volleyball history, joining Tanya Edmunds who garnered the honor when UNCG was a Division II institution in 1990.
Penner is a two-time first team All-Southern Conference performer and former SoCon Freshman of the Year. The accounting major has a 4.0 grade point average and led the Spartans in assists the last three seasons, and the SoCon the last two seasons. Penner placed on the SoCon Honor Roll twice and last season she earned the SoCon Commission’s Medal and SoCon All-Academic Honors.
She led the team with 1,246 total assists, averaging 10.38 per set this season. This season’s total ranks sixth best in school history and her career total of 3,497 assists ranks fourth in school history. Penner’s 10.79 assists per set average is currently first in program history.
Penner and the Spartans finished the 2017 season 19-12 and 11-5 in the Southern Conference. UNCG made its first appearance in a national tournament, earning an at large berth into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The Spartans were defeated by the UCF Knights in Athens, Georgia.
FIRST TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Alexis Conaway Iowa State Sr. 4.00 Kinesiology
Ashley Evans (2) (#) Purdue Sr. 3.88 Mechanical Engineering
Lily Johnson (2) Missouri State Sr. 3.96 Cell and Molecular Biology
Jaelyn Keene (2) Illinois State Sr. 3.97 Financial Accounting
Rachel Minarick Michigan State Sr. 3.97 Kinesiology
Annika Olsen Iowa Sr. 4.06 Finance
Kristi Piedimonte Kennesaw State Sr. 4.00 Nursing
SECOND TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Jacie McClure Louisiana Tech Sr. 4.00 Kinesiology & Health Promotion
Allison Penner UNCG Jr. 4.00 Accounting
Kristen Stucker Austin Peay Jr. 4.00 Biology
Katie Tomasic Miami (Ohio) Sr. 4.00 Finance
Kori Waelbroeck IUPUI Sr. 4.00 Community Health
Haleigh Washington (3) (&) Penn State Sr. 3.79 Philosophy
Jaali Winters Creighton Jr. 3.92 Business Information & Analytics and French
THIRD TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Brianne Dixon Missouri State Sr. 4.00 Cell and Molecular Biology
Ann Hollas Stephen F. Austin So. 4.00 Biology
Leah Lawrence Alabama Gr. 3.99/4.00 Accounting
Ally Lunsford Bryant Sr. 4.00 Applied Psychology
Patricia Mattingly U.S. Naval Academy Jr. 3.83 Applied Mathematics
Kaylee Neal New Mexico State Gr. 4.00/4.00 Accounting
Anna Zwiebel LSU So. 4.09 Kinesiology
CoSIDA Academic All-America® of the Year: Lily Johnson, Missouri State
(2)—2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American® Second Team
(3)—2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Third Team
(&)—2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Second Team
(#)—2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Third Team