University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Three Panthers earn MVC VB Scholar-Athlete Honors
11/25/2014 1:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
ST. LOUIS – Twelve Missouri Valley Conference volleyball student-athletes have been named to the 2014 MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team by a vote of the league's volleyball sports information directors. An additional 12 student-athletes have earned honorable mention, the league office announced today.
The University of Northern Iowa volleyball team is represented by three student-athletes in the MVC Scholar-Athlete announcement - Amie Held, Eryca Hingtgen and Kayla Haneline.
UNI sophomore libero Amie Held (Festus, Mo./St. Pius X HS) earned first-team all-MVC Scholar-Athlete team honors. Held holds a 3.83 grade point average, while majoring in sports management and exercise science. She leads the Panthers with 409 digs (4.87/set). Held ranks No. 2 in the MVC in league matches only with a 5.17 digs/set average. Held has tallied 20 or more digs on 11 occasions this season. She posted a season-high 28 digs vs. Bradley (Sept. 20) and vs. Missouri State (Oct. 31). Held has twice been named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week this season.
UNI senior outside hitter Eryca Hingtgen (Fairbank, Iowa/Wapsie Valley HS) was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete honorable mention squad. Hingtgen has posted a 3.39 GPA, while majoring in movement and exercise science. She leads UNI with 330kills (2.89/set). She ranks second on the squad with 366 digs (3.21/set) and 13 double-doubles. Hingtgen has 17 double-figure kill matches. She has 20 double-figure dig totals. She set a career-high with 20 kills at Missouri State (Oct. 4) and vs. Wichita State (Nov. 1). Earlier this season, she named to the 2014 Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team in South Bend, Ind.
UNI redshirt sophomore middle blocker Kayla Haneline (Plattsmouth, Neb./Lourdes Catholic HS) was also named as an honorable mention selection to the MVC Scholar-Athlete team. Haneline has maintained a 3.60 GPA, while majoring in biology. Haneline leads the team with 100 blocks (0.88/set). She ranks third on the team with 310 kills (2.74/set). Haneline ranks No. 4 in the MVC in hitting percentage (.338) in league matches only. She has registered 15 double-digit kill matches. She tallied a season-high 17 kills vs. Bradley (Sept. 20), vs. Missouri State (Nov. 1) and in the regular season finale at Loyola (Nov. 22). Haneline was named the MVC Player of the Week for her play in two wins over Missouri State (Oct. 31) and Wichita State (Nov. 1) as she boasted of a .448 hitting percentage in the two wins. Haneline set a career-high with eight blocks in a 3-1 win at Loyola (Nov. 22). She was named to the 2014 Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team in South Bend, Ind.
This year's first team includes seven players that have received previous MVC volleyball scholar-athlete recognition, including six repeat first team honorees. One member of the first team boasts a perfect 4.00 GPA in Indiana State's Bree Spangler, while another first team honoree was the only unanimous selection, in Evansville's Ashley Ring.
Three Valley first team scholar-athletes – Missouri State's Andrea Beaty and Indiana State's Spangler – were also members of their respective Capital One/CoSida Academic All-District Teams.
Forty-two student-athletes were nominated for the Valley's scholar-athlete team. The criterion for the honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75-percent of the regular-season matches. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore status in both athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were not eligible).
