Three Salukis earn MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team Recognition
11/25/2019 | 5:13:00 | Women's Volleyball
SIU’s three selections are its most MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honorees since 2012.
ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois senior libero Laura Rojas, junior setter/hitter Rachel Maguire and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Hannah Becker have been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, the league announced Tuesday.
It marks the most MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selections for the Salukis since 2012, when Southern also placed three on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team. SIU has earned at least one honoree in 26 of the 27 years in which the awards have been handed out.
Rojas ends her career with her first MVC Scholar-Athlete honor. The senior from Orlando, Fla. had her most productive season as a Saluki in 2019, as she tallied 564 digs- the third-most in a single-season in program history. A biological sciences major at SIU, Rojas notched 27 double-digit dig outputs, which included 13 matches with 20-plus digs. She also tallied her first collegiate assist-dig double-double in SIU's five-set win at Bradley on Sept. 27 and she dug out a career-high 32 balls in SIU's win over Drake on Nov. 2- the most digs in a match by a Saluki since 2012.
Maguire was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team for the first time in her career after she had one of the best all-around seasons in program history. The junior setter/hitter became the first Saluki in program history to record 300 kills/500 assists/300 digs in the same season and broke both SIU's season and career record for triple-doubles. The Bloomington, Ill. native finished the season with a NCAA-leading 13 triple-doubles, which were the most in a single-season in both the MVC and NCAA in at least the last five seasons. The biological sciences major put down double-digit kills in 18 matches, which included a career-high 18 against Valparaiso on Nov. 8.
Becker earned the first MVC Scholar-Athlete honor of her career after she had a breakout sophomore season. The Polk City, Iowa native put down double-digit kills in 13 matches, which included a career-high 20 kills in SIU's win over Illinois State on Oct. 25. In doing so, she was named the MVC's Player of the Week and became the first Saluki since 2015 to earn the honor. The criminology and criminal justice major hit over .300 in seven matches, which included a career-high .462 in the win over the Redbirds.
The criteria for the scholar-athlete team balloting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, have played at least 75-percent of a team's games, and must carry at least a 3.20 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).
