Ball State University Athletics
Justin Orr Named to Academic All-District 5 Men?s At-Large First Team
May 29, 2008 | Men's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State men's volleyball senior middle attacker Justin Orr (Gladstone, Mo./Winnetonka H.S.) has been named to the 2007-08 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 5 University Division Men's At-Large First Team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Orr's name will now be placed on the national ballot for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men's At-Large Team, which will be announced June 10.
"I am pleased Justin has been selected for this prestigious honor," said Ball State head coach Joel Walton. "Justin was a great student-athlete during his two years at Ball State and represented our team with the highest level of class and character. He will be extremely successful in his life after BSU."
The 2007-08 men's at-large team was voted on by members of CoSIDA from District 5, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. To qualify for Academic All-District, student-athletes must hold at least sophomore status at their university, own a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 and be either a starter or key reserve for their team.
A key reserve for the Cardinals this past season, Orr graduated from Ball State in May with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a biology and pre-dentistry major. Orr played in 15 matches and 30 games for the Cardinals this season, helping guide the team to a 21-10 (10-2 MIVA) record and a No. 10 ranking in the final CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll and a No. 9 ranking in the final Molten/Volleyball Men's College Top 10 Media Poll. BSU was ranked as high as sixth in both polls during the season.
A winner of the 2008 United States Navy Health Professions Scholarship, Orr paced all Ball State reserves with a 1.47 kills-per-game average and a .322 attacking percentage. He also averaged 1.13 blocks per game and 2.2 points per game. Orr smashed a career-high 10 kills, while scoring five total blocks in three games of action versus Rutgers-Newark (April 4). He also finished the contest with a match-high .714 (10-0-14) attack percentage. Orr, who recorded at least one block in 12 matches, will continue his academic work in dentistry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City utilizing his U.S. Navy scholarship in the fall.
