Bulldog volleyball tops nation with 10 Scholar-Athletes

By on Dec. 5, 2014 in Volleyball

Bulldog volleyball tops nation with 10 Scholar-Athletes

2014 Daktronics-NAIA Volleyball Scholar-Athletes

SEWARD, Neb. – For the second-straight year, the Concordia University volleyball program has topped all 219 NAIA volleyball programs in total number of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Ten different Bulldogs have received the honor for the 2014 campaign, including repeat selections Amanda Abbott, Kayla James, Michala Maurer, Audrey Mehl and Mariah Schamp.

First-time Scholar-Athlete honorees are juniors Katie Peterson, Kayla Sombke, Claire White and Libby Zagel and senior Jami Nekoliczak.

Last year Concordia volleyball tied the national lead with a total of seven NAIA Scholar-Athletes. That figure led all GPAC schools.

In order to be nominated by an institution’s head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status. A total of 455 volleyball student-athletes across the nation were named scholar-athletes by the NAIA.

Concordia University ranks as the NAIA’s all-time leader in number of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes with 1,051 and counting. During the 2013-14 academic year, Concordia garnered 101 Scholar-Athlete honorees (most in the NAIA) and 17 NAIA Scholar-Teams (tied for fourth nationally).

Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university located in Seward, Neb., that currently serves over 2,200 students. Concordia offers more than 50 professional and liberal arts programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world.

2014 Concordia volleyball scholar-athletes

  • Amanda Abbott, Sr. | Temecula, Calif. | Elementary Education
  • Kayla James, Sr. | Kearney, Neb. | Biology
  • Michala Maurer, Sr. | Columbus, Neb. | Middle Level Education - Math & Language Arts
  • Audrey Mehl, Sr. | Concordia, Mo. | Secondary Education
  • Jami Nekoliczak, Sr. | Greeley, Neb. | Behavior Science
  • Katie Peterson, Jr. | Ord, Neb. | Biology
  • Mariah Schamp, Sr. | Arvada, Colo. | Director of Christian Education and Psychology
  • Kayla Sombke, Jr. | Indianapolis, Ind. | Early Childhood Education
  • Claire White, Jr. | Exeter, Neb. | Environmental Science
  • Libby Zagel, Jr. | Brighton, Colo. | Accounting

5 December 2014