MVC Scholar-Athlete Release

St. LOUIS -- Missouri State's Lily Johnson was honored Tuesday (Nov. 24) by the Missouri Valley Conference for her performance on the court and in the classroom, earning a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team following a vote of the league's volleyball sports information directors.

Johnson, who carries a 3.98 GPA in cell and molecular biology, leads the conference with 4.47 kills and 4.97 points per set, and increases those numbers to 4.69 kills and 5.25 points in league contests to go with an MVC-high 0.34 aces per set. She hits .231 on the season and also averages 2.99 digs and 0.33 blocks per set.

A sophomore outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., Johnson recently became the 20th MSU player and first sophomore to reach 1,000 career kills. Her 536 kills in 2015 rank third in Missouri State history, while her average ranks fourth. Johnson has 15 matches this season with at least 20 kills, and recently completed a school-record streak of 36 consecutive matches with at least 10 kills.

A total of 46 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).

First Team
Kayla Haneline, UNI
Amie Held, UNI
Emily Hiebert, Wichita State
Lily Johnson, Missouri State
Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State
Abbie Lehman, Wichita State
Taylor Pippen, Southern Illinois
Mikaela Raudsepp, Wichita State
Katie Reilly, Wichita State
Ashley Rosch, Illinois State
Bree Spangler, Indiana State
Jacqueline Twing, Illinois State

Honorable Mention
Abby Barrow, Southern Illinois
Kim Deprez, Evansville
Katie Dulek, Drake
Andrea Estrada, Southern Illinois
Kyla Inderski, Drake
Dani Mostrom, Wichita State
Cordelia Murphy, Bradley
Erika Nord, Indiana State
Morgan Reardon, Loyola
Lea Sack, Bradley
Cassandra Willis, Indiana State