Volleyball Excel In Classroom With Seven NAIA Scholar Athletes

CHICAGO – The Roosevelt women's volleyball program continued its excellence in the classroom with seven Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes, the organization announced Tuesday.

Juniors Viktoria Marysheva and Krista Norton both earned their second Scholar-Athlete distinction, and they were joined by five second-year players for the Lakers. Gabrielle Teorey is an academic senior who is in just her second year at Roosevelt, making her eligible for her first honor. Meanwhile, true sophomores Oliva Adams, Zoe Hutchinson, Rachel Stepanenko and Brooke Williams all earned their first honors from the organization this year.

Teorey made just one appearance this season for the Lakers while battling an injury, but the other six honorees all played in at least 18 matches this season. Marysheva led the Lakers with a career-best 275 kills this season to finish as a second-team all-conference honoree. Hutchinson dished out 5.22 assists per set this year to lead the Lakers, Norton ranked second on Roosevelt's roster with 48 blocks, including nine solo stuffs, while Adams led the team with 45 aces this year. Stepanenko was used mostly as a serving specialist, and finished with three points scored this season.

Per the NAIA, the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete programs recognize excellence in the classroom by NAIA-member student-athletes who are juniors or above in academic standing with a 3.5 cumulative GPA. Students must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended one full year at the institution. The awards are given annually to outstanding student-athletes in the various sports in which the program is active and their respective teams are eligible for NAIA postseason competition.