Benson Named To Academic All-District Second Team

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State women's volleyball redshirt junior middle hitter Hayley Benson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) has been named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District V Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Benson, a marketing major with a 3.90 grade-point average, is the first Ball State women's volleyball player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors since the 2005 season, when Sarah Obras and Stephanie Bacan were named to the first team and sophomore Angie Parrell was named to the third team.

A four-time Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week selection this season, Benson enters the final two weeks of the regular season ranked second in the conference with a .374 (284-64-589) attack percentage. Her 2.87 kills-per-set average is 10th among all league players, while her 284 total kills rank seventh in the MAC.

Benson smashed a career-high 19 kills in last Saturday's win over Western Michigan, and has blasted double-digit kills in 17 matches this season, including 13 of the last 14. She hit a career-high .667 (12-0-18) versus Kent State (Oct. 18), and has hit .400-or-better in 13 matches on the year.

To be eligible for Capital One Academic All-District and Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 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 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

Members of the Capital One Academic All-District V teams come from the geographical region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The academic all-district teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the third year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian universities, and two-year schools.

Benson and the Ball State women's volleyball team return to the road this weekend for matches at Central Michigan (Friday) and Eastern Michigan (Saturday). Both contests are set for 7 p.m. first serves.

For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.

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Capital One Academic All-District V Teams

First Team*
Jill Briner	Eastern Michigan	Sr.	Oak Park, Ill.	4.00	Accounting
Meg Riley	Miami	Sr.	St. Louis, Mo.	3.97	Mechanical Engineering
Anna Dorn	Illinois	Sr.	Munster, Ind.	3.96	Kinesiology
Kelly Lamberti	Ohio	Sr.	Cary, Ill.	3.72	Integraded Mathematics
Mackenzie Roddy	Northern Illinois	Sr.	San Bernadino, Calif.	3.94	Business Management
Bree Spangler	Indiana State	So.	Coldwater, Mich.	4.00	Speech and Language Pathology

Second Team
Abby Gilleland	Ohio	Jr.	Bull Valley, Ill.	3.75	Pre-Sport Management
Liz McMahon	Illinois	Sr.	Liberty Twp., Ohio	3.85	Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Erica Fullenkamp	Bowling Green	Sr.	Minster, Ohio	4.00	Adolescent to Young Adult Ed.
Saige Gallop	DePaul	Jr.	San Diego, Calif.	4.00	Pre-Health
Amanda Baker	Oakland	Jr.	Neoga, Ill.	3.96	Health Sciences
Hayley Benson	Ball State	Jr.	Hilliard, Ohio	3.90	Marketing

* denotes all-district first team selections will be eligible for Capital One Academic All-America consideration

- BallStateSports.com -

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