Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University senior women's volleyball player Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), class of 2016, has been named to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division III volleyball first team, released Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The announcement makes her the first three-time Academic All-America honoree in Wittenberg history.
Seidenstricker was a first-team selection in 2014 and third-team pick in 2013. She is an education major with a 3.9 grade point average.
A 2015 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) first-team All-American selection, Seidenstricker is also a four-time AVCA All-American, and the only Wittenberg player to ever do so in all four years of her collegiate career.
The 2012 NCAA Division III Freshman of the Year, she is a three-time recipient of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year Award. She helped lead the Tigers to the 2015 NCAA Division III National Championship match with an average of 3.03 kills per set. An outside hitter for Wittenberg, she recorded 3.74 digs per set with a .942 service reception percentage this season.
Seidenstricker ranks seventh in school history with 1,468 career kills, and she also ranks 10th in school history with 1,482 career digs.
"Kara is a role model for what it means to be a student-athlete. From the start, her goals at Wittenberg were academic achievement, and growth. Her discipline and organization allowed her to set additional athletic-based, goals," said Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador.
"She proves that excellence in the classroom and in athletics is not mutually exclusive. Not only has she challenged herself to be great, she has challenged me as her coach, to be the best mentor I can be, and her professors to be the best instructors they can be. I know I speak for the entire Wittenberg community when I say how proud and honored we are to have had a role in Kara's collegiate career," Labrador added.
Amongst her various All-American honors, Seidenstricker has also been a member of the Dean's List all six semesters at Wittenberg, while also being honored as a member of Kapa Delta Pi Education Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Honorary, Mortar Board and Ivy Ring.
"I am extremely honored to be recognized for my work in athletics and in the classroom. I believe this award reflects more on the people that have helped me along my career, though," she said.
Seidenstricker plans to explore opportunities to travel for the next year, before finding a teaching job at a small elementary school.
"My family, coaches, professors, and teammates have been there to push me to work harder every single day and to give me support when needed it," Seidenstricker said. "I know I couldn't have succeeded without the wonderful Wittenberg community, and this award represents everybody's hard work and effort. I would like to thank my parents and siblings for helping me get to Wittenberg, and being with me throughout the whole journey. I would also like to thank my coaches, Paco, Hallie, and Amy (Damele), and my advisers, Dr. Brian Yontz and Dr. Nancy Woehrle, for their time invested in me and their valuable advice and support."
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III programs, as well as National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), covering all NCAA championship sports.
Seidenstricker and the Tigers finished 2015, ranked second nationally with a final record of 29-3 and finishing runner-up in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Written By: Kuris Duggan