Ball State University Athletics
Justin Orr Named to Academic All-America Second Team
June 11, 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-America University Division Men's At-Large Second Team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Orr is just the third player in program history to earn Academic All-America honors, joining first team selection Stephan Stamato (1991) and third team honoree Bob DiDonato (1993).
"I am shocked and elated to receive such a prestigious honor," said Orr. "To graduate and then have my college career culminate with Academic All-America honors is icing on the cake. I would like to thank Joel and Kevin for their support athletically and my friends and professors for their support academically. Without them none of this would have been possible."
The Academic All-America Men's At-Large program includes student-athletes from the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. A total of 48 student-athletes were named to either the first, second or third teams, with Orr being one of only three volleyball players to earn recognition. Penn State's Max Lipsitz joined Orr on the second team, while Pepperdine's Jonathan Winder collected third team accolades.
"This is truly a great honor for Justin to receive," said Ball State head men's volleyball coach Joel Walton. "With athletes from 11 different sports vying for a spot on one of the three teams, it is really difficult for one of our student-athletes to get recognized. Justin is just the third player from our program to earn Academic All-America honors and that is something he should be really proud of. This award is what every college athlete should strive to achieve, being strong athletically and academically."
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
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.
