DALLAS – Conference USA unveiled its 2020-21 Volleyball All-Academic Team on Tuesday with 11 student-athletes honored for their stellar academic and athletic accomplishments this season. Eight member institutions were represented as Old Dominion, Rice and UTEP garnered two award winners each.
 
2020-21 Conference USA Volleyball All-Academic Team
*Sydney Rowan, Charlotte, Sr., OH, 3.973 GPA, Systems Engineering
Sarah Schank, Marshall, Jr., L/DS, 3.74 GPA, Finance
Samira Lawson Body, Middle Tennessee, Jr., OH, 4.0 GPA, Biology
*Valerie Valerian, North Texas, Sr., OH, 4.0 GPA, Accounting
Hailey Duncan, Old Dominion, R-So., MB, 4.0 GPA, Nursing and Psychology
Alessia Sgherza, Old Dominion, Gr., OH, 3.94 GPA, Exercise Science
*Nicole Lennon, Rice, Sr., OH, 3.73 GPA, Economics and Psychological Sciences
Carly Graham, Rice, Jr., S, 3.65 GPA, Kinesiology (Health Sciences)
Paulina Pérez Rosas, UTEP, Jr., OH, 4.0 GPA, Kinesiology
Cheyenne Jones, UTEP, Sr., OH, 3.82 GPA, International Business
Paige Briggs, WKU, So., OH, 3.87 GPA, Visual Studies                      
*repeat selections
 
Sydney Rowan earned C-USA All-Academic recognition for the second year in a row, this season with a 3.973 GPA in systems engineering. The Charlotte senior is a four-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal and Honor Roll recipient. On the court, the outside hitter posted eight double-doubles and ranks second among all 49ers in average kills (3.23) and digs (2.80).

Marshall junior Sarah Schank is a finance student with a 3.74 GPA. The defensive stalwart leads the league with 4.87 digs per set through all 54 played this year. Schank, in her first match at the libero position, set the program record for most digs in a single contest with 40 at Xavier, breaking an almost 22-year old mark.

A regular on Middle Tennessee's honor roll, Samira Lawson Body made her first appearance on the conference's All-Academic roster this semester with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a biology major. The junior leads the Blue Raiders in kills (155) and kills per set (2.58) in 60 seen this spring.

North Texas senior Valerie Valerian made her second-straight appearance as an All-Academic honoree. As an accounting graduate student, Valerian marked an unblemished 4.0 GPA while taking on a spring internship. The outside hitter ranks fourth in program history in career attacks, fifth in career kills and sixth in career digs despite seeing limited time this season.

Old Dominion boasted two winners in the program's inaugural season. Redshirt sophomore Hailey Duncan is a 4.0 student double majoring in nursing and psychology. The middle blocker made all 17 starts and leads the Monarchs with 53 total blocks. Graduate Alessia Sgherza is the second of three Monarchs to start all matches while posting a 3.94 GPA as an exercise science master's student. The outside hitter paces Old Dominion with 3.66 points and 3.31 kills per set.

Rice became the second of three programs to collect multiple academic award winners. The 24^th-ranked Owls roster senior Nicole Lennon, a 2019 C-USA All-Academic Team member and current Senior CLASS Candidate. Lennon ranks second among all active NCAA players in career kills and attacks, and posted a 3.73 GPA in economics and psychological sciences this semester. She was joined by junior setter Carly Graham, who worked a 3.65 GPA in kinesiology to collect her first All-Academic nod. Graham racked up six double-doubles on the year and her 10.10 assists per set rank second in C-USA.

In her first season as a UTEP Miner, junior Paulina Pérez Rosas was the only team member to earn a 4.0 GPA as a kinesiology major. In 14 starts, Rosas leads her squad with five double-doubles on the season, including three in consecutive matches. The second Miner to earn All-Academic recognition, senior Cheyenne Jones compiled a 3.82 GPA in her international business studies. The outside hitter has competed in 44 sets and paces UTEP in points (3.48) and kills (3.18) per set, while her .364 hitting percentage ranks fifth among all C-USA players.

Rounding out this season's All-Academic roster is WKU sophomore Paige Briggs. The Michigan native owns a 3.87 GPA as a visual studies major and has earned a spot on the school's President's List in all three semesters. Briggs has seen action in all 57 sets and ranks in the team's top three in kills (3.79), digs (3.56), assists (16) and service aces (17).