Jan. 5, 2009

CLEVELAND - Four Ohio University volleyball players were honored for their prowess in the classroom on Monday, as junior outside hitter Ellen Herman, junior middle blockers Meghan Simons and Jane Sytsma and sophomore setter Michelle Jantsch were named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference team, as voted upon by faculty athletics representatives from around the league.

The Bobcats' four selections were a league-high, while Herman was one of just six two-time honorees among the 24 student-athletes recognized on Monday. This season's four honorees bring Ohio's total of Academic All-MAC selections to 20 accolades among 16 players since the 1987 campaign.

A health services administration major with a 3.37 GPA, Herman (Toledo, Ohio) earned her second-straight Academic All-MAC nod after leading the MAC and finishing ninth nationally with an average of 4.57 kills per set. The MAC Player of the Year and an AVCA honorable mention All-America honoree, Herman set Ohio single-season rally-scoring records for both kills (526) and attempts (1,363), while posting 14 double-doubles and 11 20-kill matches on the season. She was named Most Valuable Player at the MAC Tournament in recognition of her field-leading average of 5.00 kills per set. She currently ranks sixth on the program's overall career charts with 1,427 kills and 3,449 attempts, while those marks both rank as the third-most by an Ohio player in the rally-scoring era.

Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan.), a second-team All-MAC selection who owns a 3.46 cumulative GPA, ranked among the league leaders in both aces and assists per set this season, finishing second (0.39) and sixth (10.17), respectively. Her 47 aces on the year tied for ninth on the program's overall single-season chart, while rating third on the rally-scoring list, while her average of 0.39 per frame was also the third-best by a Bobcat in the rally-scoring era. The two-time MAC East Player of the Week also finished the year with 1,220 assists, marking the fifth-best single-season output by an Ohio player in rally-scoring play, while her 2,097-career assists currently rank third in the rally-scoring era and sixth on Ohio's overall ledger.

Simons (Lancaster, Ohio) also earned her first Academic All-MAC nod on Monday, adding to the first-team all-league accolade she received in November. The communications studies major carries a 3.68 cumulative GPA, and was one of 23 Ohio student-athletes to turn in a 4.0 in the 2008 fall quarter. Simons paced the Bobcats in both hitting percentage (.323) and blocks per set (0.98) in 2008, ranking among the conference leaders in both categories. Her .323 efficiency mark was also the seventh-best single-season figure in the rally-scoring era, while her clip of 0.98 blocks per set matched the seventh-best rally-scoring output in program history.

An accounting major with a 3.75 GPA, Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) became just the ninth player in school history to break the 300-career block barrier in 2008 en route to earning second-team All-MAC distinction. Her 109 total blocks on the year tied for the eighth-best single-season rally-scoring mark in program history, and improved her career total to 303 rejections, the fifth-most in the rally-scoring era and the eighth-best overall figure in school history. Also a factor on the offensive side, her 769.5 points and 609-career kills currently rank ninth and 10th in the rally-scoring era, respectively.

In addition to the Bobcats' four Academic All-MAC selections, sophomore Meryl Bender (Yorktown, Ind.) was awarded honorable mention recognition for having the minimum 3.20 GPA necessary in order to make the team.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for student-athletes who have excelled in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests in that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.