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ELSWICK NAMED ONE OF 30 FINALISTS FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD

September 20, 2012

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MARTIN, Tenn. – Kasey Elswick, a senior on The University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball team, has been selected as one of 30 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for this award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division-I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

A libero out of Louisville, Ky., Elswick is UT Martin’s all-time career digs leader (2,218) and currently ranks fifth on the Ohio Valley Conference all-time digs list. A two-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year, she set an NCAA single-season record last season with 852 digs and is the Skyhawk single-match leader in digs as well (46 in four sets at Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 23, 2011).

“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach Kasey these past four years,” UT Martin head coach Darrin McClure said. “I’ve never coached a more passionate and determined player – she is committed to athletics and academics equally. She has a bright future in whatever she decides to pursue because of her work ethic.”

Elswick was an AVCA honorable mention All-American and All-Midwest region selection in 2011, when she averaged 6.50 digs per set. The accounting major also was a CoSIDA first team all-district academic honoree and an OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient, posting a 3.96 cumulative Grade Point Average.

So far this season, Elswick leads the OVC once again in digs (255, 5.67 per set). She was selected to the All-OVC preseason team and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3 – the 10^th time in her storied career she had brought home that accolade. That came after a season-high 40 dig performance against Troy on Aug. 31.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season.

The following is a list of candidates for this year’s Senior CLASS Award:

Lesli Akeo, Siena

Andrea Beck, Wake Forest

Alaina Bergsma, Oregon

Megan Bober, Creighton

Amy Braun, Northern Iowa

Danielle Carlson, Marquette

Karissa Cook, Stanford

Dana Cranston, Colorado State

Kasey Elswick, UT Martin

Ashley Frazier, Kentucky

Katie Fuller, Southern California

Krysta Gardner, Bethune-Cookman

Christiana Gray, Duke

Andrea Hannasch, San Diego State

Altrese Hawkins, Memphis

Rachel Iaquaniello, Eastern Michigan

Rachael Kidder, UCLA

Faimie Kingsley, Denver

Rachel Krabacher, Dayton

Alison Landwehr, Iowa State

Gina Mancuso, Nebraska

Lindsey Miller, Texas A&M

Jodi Purdy, Wyoming

Taylor Root, Valparaiso

Robin Rostratter, California

Sam Serley, UAB

Jamie Straube, Iowa State

Ariel Turner, Purdue

Kate Van Dyke, Georgia Southern

Breanne Van Every, Idaho State

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