St. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference awarded former Missouri State volleyball player Lily Johnson one of its four postgraduate scholarships, league commissioner Doug Elgin announced Tuesday. The MVC Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee voted Johnson and three other deserving student-athletes to receive a $5,000 scholarship due to exemplary academic and athletic performances.

Johnson completed her outstanding volleyball career last fall, earning AVCA All-American honors for the fourth consecutive season as a Third Team pick, and being named the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® of the Year. She concluded her career ranked second in NCAA history in career attacks (6,610), third in consecutive sets played (519), and 19th in kills (2,293), all MSU and MVC records. She is also one of 10 players in NCAA history with at least 2,200 kills and 1,500 digs.

A native of Wildwood, Mo., Johnson graduated in May with a 3.96 cumulative grade point average in cell and molecular biology. She was a recipient of MSU's Citizen Scholar Award, the most prestigious honor a student can receive at Missouri State. Johnson will be pursuing a graduate degree to become a physician's assistant, specializing in pediatric orthopedics.

To be eligible for consideration, recipients must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.40, participated with distinction in a Missouri Valley Conference championship sport for at least two seasons at the nominating institution and must graduate from their institutions within 18 months following selection at the spring meetings of the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee.  

Also, the recipients must be accepted for postgraduate studies at an institution of higher learning at the time of receipt of the scholarship.  And, the recipients must have completed eligibility for participation in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which nominated.