Nov. 7, 2008
FAIRBANKS, AK - Five volleyball student-athletes repeated their performances in the classroom and sophomores Melissa Refuerzo and Erica Gage got their first conference recognitions as the Alaska Nanooks' volleyball team had seven players named to the 2008 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference Team.
For the second straight year junior setter Alexa Sherman (Calabasas, Calif.) led the Nanooks with the highest overall grade-point average, earning a 3.77 in her arts and sciences major.
Alaska’s repeat performers included senior Miranda Trudeau (Chimacum, Wash./foreign languages) and juniors Megan Thigpen (business administration), Hannah Armstrong (business) and Jessica Hill (journalism).
Refuerzo and Gage, were the newcomers for Alaska, which tied Central Washington with seven selections and was second only to Western Oregon's league-best with eight players making the team.
The full list of the 2008 GNAC Volleyball Academic All-Conference Team is as follows:
GNAC Volleyball Academic All-Conference Team:
Rhea Cardwell, Alaska Anchorage (Political Science, Sr., 3.88, Prineville, OR)
* Alexa Sherman, Alaska (Arts & Sciences, Jr., 3.77, Calabasas, CA)
Erica Gage, Alaska (Psychology, So., 3.62, Palo Alto, CA)
* Miranda Trudeau, Alaska (Foreign Languages, Sr., 3.59, Chimacum, WA)
* Hannah Armstrong, Alaska (Business, Jr., 3.50, Eagle River, AK)
* Jessica Hill, Alaska (Journalism, Jr., 3.46, Colorado Springs, CO)
* Megan Thigpen, Alaska (Business Administration, Jr., 3.28, Spokane, WA)
Melissa Refuerzo, Alaska (Business Administration, So., 3.26, Anchorage, AK)
Emily Veenker, Central Washington (Exercise Science, Sr., 3.57, Auburn, WA)
*Deidre Scheidt, Central Washington (Math Teaching, Jr., 3.53, Milton, WA)
*Erin Norris, Central Washington (Biology, Jr., 3.44, Spokane, WA)
Brandie Vea, Central Washington (Undeclared, So,, 3.41, Honolulu, HI)
*Maggie Olson, Central Washington (Economics/Spanish, Sr., 3.37, Snoqualmie, WA)
*Lauren Vercammen, Central Washington (Biology, Sr., 3.29, Bellingham, WA)
Kayla Roof, Central Washington (Exercise Science, Sr., 3.23. Eatonville, WA)
Devon Crotteau, MSU Billings (Chemistry/Pre-Pharmacy, Jr., 3.75, Casper, WY)
Hillary Morrison, MSU Billings (Biology, So., 3.62, Evansville, WY)
Jennifer Boe, MSU Billings (Business Management, So., 3.61, Casper, WY)
Jill Trabing, MSU Billings (Sociology, Jr., 3.38, Buffalo, WY)
*Jessica Lechner, Montana State Billings (Math Education, Sr., 3.25, Pompeys Pillar, MT)
Amy Higginson, Northwest Nazarene (Biology/Pre-Med, So., 3.53, Longview, WA)
*Cammy Dranginis, Northwest Nazarene (Secondary Ed/Kinesiology, Jr., 3.41, Nampa, ID)
Haley Hevern, Northwest Nazarene (Psychology, So., 3.40, Central Point, OR)
Erika Schaub, Northwest Nazarene (Secondary Education/Math, So., 3.27, Wilder, ID)
*Nikki Finley, Seattle Pacific (French & European Studies, Jr., 3.90, Highlands Ranch, CO)
*Robin De Jong, Seattle Pacific (Language Arts, Jr., 3.82, Goleta, CA)
**Torii Mount, Seattle Pacific (Family & Consumer Sciences, Sr. 3.59, Gresham, OR)
Kylie Johnson, Seattle Pacific (Biology, So., 3.35, Tucson, AZ)
Haley Kostrba, Western Oregon (Master’s of Education, Sr., 4.00GR, Gresham, OR)
*Lisa Martini, Western Oregon (Exercise Science, Jr., 3.95, Philomath, OR)
**Stacey Bennett, Western Oregon (Psychology, Sr., 3.85, Portland, OR)
*Amy Herron, Western Oregon (Exercise Science, Jr., 3.90, Spokane, WA)
*Danielle English, Western Oregon (Exercise Science, Jr., 3.60, Anchorage, AK)
Kayla Mainer, Western Oregon (Business, Sr., 3.57, Spokane, WA)
Laura Sakala, Western Oregon (Business, Jr., 3.46, Beaverton, OR)
Jorden Burrows, Western Oregon (Nursing, So., 3.28, Lebanon, OR)
Kathryn Mertens, Western Washington (Biology/Anthropology, So., 3.88, Olympia, WA)
Shanley Besett, Western Washington (Biology/Anthropology, Sr., 3.84, University Place, WA)
**Tiana Roma, Western Washington (Biology/Secondary Teaching, Sr., 3.78, Edmonds, WA)
Jordyn Bailey, Western Washington (International Business/Linguistics, So., 3.42, Wenatchee, WA)
Megan Amundson, Western Washington (Secondary Education/Management, So., 3.33, Stanwood, WA)
Allison Gotz, Western Washington (Physical Education/Special Ed, So., 3.31, Bothell, WA)
*Repeater **Two-time repeater
