Molli Abel POY and Academic Athlete of the Year honors

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Molli Abel earned player of the year and academic athlete of the year honors

 

Molli Abel Named Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year

Adrianne Meengs joins Abel with first team honors

Jan. 3, 2008

FRISCO, Texas - Lamar University senior volleyball standout Molli Abel capped her off a stellar 2007 season by being named the Capital One/Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year as voted upon by the Awards Committee and released by the league office. Abel is joined on the all academic team by teammate Adrianne Meengs, who also earned SLC setter of the year honors.

Starting all 34 matches in 2007 for the Lady Cardinals, Abel claimed Player of the Year honors after knocking down a league-best and school record .377 hitting percentage, sparking Lamar to its best record since 2002 (15-1,25-9) and claiming its first regular-season title since 2001.

A nursing major (3.63 GPA) from Friendswood, Texas, Abel's performance off the court was equally as impressive. Picking up her second consecutive Academic All-SLC first team honor and third academic nomination of her career, the two-time Dean's List recipient received her second CoSIDA Academic District VI second team nomination in successive seasons.

The student-athlete of the year is annually presented to the individual in each conference sport who achieves excellence in academics and athletics. Nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average to go along with superior athletics achievement.

Meengs, who is one of just two athletes out of the 18 student-athletes selected for academic recognition by the SLC to boast a grade point average of 4.0, was named to the first team. Her work in the classroom also helped her join Abel in earning CoSIDA Academic District VI honors, being named to the third team.

The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each SLC university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.00 cumulative grade point average, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team's competition to qualify for the all-academic squad. 

Ten Southland universities are represented on the all-academic team.

Included in Capital One's support of the Southland Conference Academic Awards Program is the F.L. McDonald Postgraduate Scholarship presented by Capital One, and the Capital One Southland Conference All-Academic Teams, the Capital One Scholar-Athlete Award and the Capital One Commissioner's Honor Roll.