St. LOUIS -- Missouri State's Emily Butters, Brianne Dixon and Lily Johnson were honored Tuesday (Nov. 21) by the Missouri Valley Conference for their performance on the court and in the classroom, earning spots on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team following a vote of the league's volleyball sports information directors. The trio each made the first team last season as well, while Johnson is MSU's fourth three-time selection.

Butters maintains a 3.88 cumulative grade point average while studying exercise and movement science, and is in the midst of one of the top defensive seasons in MSU history. The Richmond, Texas, native ranks fourth nationally with 690 total digs and ninth at 5.85 per set, both Missouri State single-season records. She has at least 10 digs in 30 of MSU's 31 matches with 22 outings of 20 of more. A four-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week in 2017, Butters had 44 digs on Oct. 13 at Drake, the second-highest total in Missouri State and fifth-best in Valley history.

Also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in her career, Dixon owns a perfect 4.0 GPA in cell and molecular biology, and has played in all 31 MSU matches this season with 25 starts and 117 sets. The senior defensive specialist from Springfield native ranks fourth on the team with 286 digs and a 2.44 per set average, and has 14 matches this season with 10 or more digs, including a career-high 19 on Oct. 20 vs. Bradley.

Johnson owns a 3.96 GPA in cell and molecular biology, and has won MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week six times in 2017 and 11 times in her career along with 2016 Academic All-American Second Team membership in 2016.

On the court, the outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 4.55 kills and 5.14 points per set, ranking fourth nationally with 537 total kills and 606.5 total points. She is a six-time MVC Player of the Week this season, and owns MVC records with 2,256 career kills and 6,489 attacks.

Johnson has 26 matches with at least 10 kills and 22 double-doubles this year, with four matches of at least 20 kills and 20 digs, an MSU single-season record. Johnson also leads the Bears with 38 aces and ranks second with 3.93 digs per set. She is one of 10 players in NCAA history with at least 2,200 kills and 1,500 digs in a career, and ranks eighth in NCAA history with 510 consecutive sets played.

A total of 44 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
Abby Barrow, Southern Illinois 
Emily Butters, Missouri State
Brianne Dixon, Missouri State
Ashley Edelen, Southern Illinois
Rachel Griffin, Indiana State
Erica Haslag, Bradley
Kyla Inderski, Drake
Lily Johnson, Missouri State
Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State
Allison Ketcham, Valparaiso
Ali Line, Illinois State
Courtney Pence, Illinois State

Honorable Mention
Sydney Bronner, Valparaiso
Katherine Carlson, Valparaiso
Kathryn Graf, Bradley
Heather Hook, UNI
Jamie Livaudais, Bradley
Maddy Moser, Loyola
Sarah Peterson, Indiana State
Piper Thomas, UNI