UNI volleyball: Fallert named CSC Academic All-American

AUSTIN, Tex. --- UNI senior Kira Fallert on Tuesday was honored with her latest academic honor, earning Second Team Academic All-American recognition from College Sports Communicators (CSC).

To be eligible for this honor, students must be at least a sophomore both academically and athletically, must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale and participate in at least 90% or start in at least 66% of their team's matches. All-Americans are voted on by the organization's membership from its All-District teams.

Fallert, a Maplewood, Minnesota native and outside hitter, is the 59th Academic All-American selection in UNI history and 13th selection in the UNI volleyball program's history. She joins Panther soccer player Lauren Heinsch, who also earned CSC Academic All-American honors this past fall.

Fallert, the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Co-Player of the Year, a First Team All-MVC honoree and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region and All-American selection, posted a 4.00 GPA majoring in biology, after earning her second CSC Academic All-District honor of her career. She led the Panther offense and ranked fourth in the MVC with 3.69 kills per set, along with 34 service aces, 2.3 digs per set and 51 total blocks. She notched eight double-double performances this year, surpassing 1,000 career digs to join UNI's elite Double Grand Club and has recorded ten or more kills in 26 matches this year, including 18 of her last 22 outings.

Fallert, who finished her career seventh all-time with 1,446 kills in school history, was also named to this year's MVC All-Tournament Team and became the first player in MVC history to win the league's Elite 18 Award three consecutive years for posting the highest cumulative GPA in the MVC Tournament's championship match.

Northern Iowa finished the 2024 season with a 26-8 record and 18-0 mark in league play, capturing its third consecutive regular season and conference tournament titles. The Panthers defeated Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in four sets before falling to fourth-ranked and eventual NCAA runner-up Louisville in a five-set thriller in the following round.

UNI's All-Time CSC Academic All-Americans

1974 - Paul James (Football) - First Team
1977 - Mark Enright (Men's Basketball) - Honorable Mention
1977 - Mike Kemp (Men's Basketball) - Honorable Mention
1978 - Tim Weber (Baseball) - Second Team
1980 - Owen Docktor (Football) - Second Team
1982 - Ray Storck (Men's Basketball) - Honorable Mention
1984 - Randy Kraayenbrink (Men's Basketball) - Second Team
1985 - Mary Bernhardt (Volleyball) - First Team
1986 - Mary Bernhardt (Volleyball) - First Team
1987 - Mary Bernhardt (Volleyball) - First Team
1989 - Kris Schroeder (Volleyball) - Second Team
1991 - Mike Schulte (Football) - Second Team
1992 - Gary Steffensmeier (Wrestling) - Third Team
1992 - Karen Vande Voort (Softball) - Third Team
1994 - Karen Vande Voort (Softball) - Second Team
1995 - Kate Galer (Volleyball) - Third Team
1996 - Kate Galer (Volleyball) - First Team
1998 - Jon Judisch (Track & Field) - Third Team
1999 - Brad Meester (Football) - First Team
2000 - Levente Timar (Track & Field) - Third Team
2000 - Kylie Sloan (Softball) - Third Team
2001 - Ryan Brunner (Baseball) - Third Team
2001 - Levente Timar (Track & Field) - Third Team
2002 - Travus Welsch (Baseball) - Third Team
2002 - Balaza Csillag (Track & Field/Cross Country) - Third Team
2002 - Jill Arganbright (Volleyball) - Second Team
2003 - Dirk Homewood (Track & Field/Cross Country) - First Team
2003 - Jill Arganbright (Volleyball) - First Team
2003 - Jill Arganbright (Volleyball) -First Team
2003 - Molly O'Brien (Volleyball) - Second Team
2003 - Katie Miller (Women's Basketball) - Third Team
2004 - Dirk Homewood (Track & Field/Cross Country) - Second Team
2005 - Dirk Homewood (Track & Field/Cross Country) - First Team
2006 - James Lindgren (Football) - First Team
2007 - Nick Baima (Wrestling) - Third Team
2008 - Mat Clark (Track & Field/Cross Country) - First Team
2008 - Josh Mahoney (Football) - Second Team
2009 - Mat Clark (Track & Field/Cross Country) - First Team
2009 - Ryan Grenko (Track & Field/Cross Country) - Second Team
2009- Josh Mahoney (Football) - First Team
2010 - Ben Boothby (Football) - Second Team
2011 - Ben Boothby (Football) - First Team
2011 - Jacqui Kalin (Women's Basketball) - Second Team
2013 - Jacqui Kalin (Women's Basketball) - First Team
2013 - Shelby Kintzel (Volleyball) - First Team
2013 - Macy Ubben (Volleyball) - Second Team
2015 - Holly Salzbrenner (Track & Field/Cross Country) - Third Team
2015 - Isaac Ales (Football) - Second Team
2015 - Jacob Rathmacher (Football) - First Team
2015 - Karter Schult (Football) - First Team
2016 - Karter Schult (Football) - First Team
2017 - Marcus Weymiller (Football) - Second Team
2018 - Alex Jackson (Track & Field/Cross Country) - First Team
2018 - Marcus Weymiller (Football) - First Team
2019 - Alex Jackson (Track & Field/Cross Country) - First Team
2022 - AJ Green (Men's Basketball) - Second Team
2023 - Tyrell Gordon (Wrestling) - Third Team
2024 - Lauren Heinsch (Women's Soccer) - Second Team
2024 - Kira Fallert (Volleyball) - Second Team

ABOUT COLLEGE SPORTS COMMUNICATORS
College Sports Communicators was founded in 1957 and is a 3,200+ member national association for strategic, creative and digital communicators across intercollegiate athletics in the United States and Canada.

From its founding in 1957 until the 2022 name change, the organization was known as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The organization, which celebrated its 65th year during the 2021-22 academic year, is the second oldest management association in all of intercollegiate athletics. College Sports Communicators became an affiliated partner with NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) in December of 2008.

UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

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