Ball State University Athletics
WVB Places Six On Academic All-MAC Team
January 08, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Six members of the Ball State women's volleyball team have been named to the 2014 Academic All-Mid-American Conference Women's Volleyball Team as announced by the league office.
Representing the Cardinals on the list for the second consecutive season is redshirt junior Hayley Benson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley), while redshirt junior Mackenzie Kitchel (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove/Cincinnati), redshirt junior Amanda Raker (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian/Butler), junior Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll), junior Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) and redshirt freshman Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) earned the honor for the first time in their careers.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. A total of 68 student-athletes were named to the Academic All-MAC Team for women's volleyball.
Benson, a marketing major with a 3.905 GPA, was an AVCA All-Midwest Region Honorable Mention selection and a Capital One Academic All-District V Second Team honoree for Ball State last season. An All-MAC First Team selection and four-time MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week award winner, Benson finished the 2014 campaign ranked first in the league and 44th nationally with a .368 (341-77-717) attack percentage. She started all 30 matches and played in all 119 sets, leading the Ball State offense with 341 kills and a 2.87 kills-per-set average. She also paced the Cardinals at the net with 105 total blocks for a 0.88 blocks-per-set average.
Kitchel, a communication studies major with a 3.390 GPA, played in 28 matches after returning from a knee injury which ended her 2013 campaign after 24 matches. She posted 138 kills on the year for a 1.62 per-set average, while adding 25 total blocks (0.29 per set). She also blasted a season-high 15 kills at IPFW (9/17), and was named to the VCU Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Raker, a general studies major with a 3.862 GPA, played in 27 matches and earned 12 starts last season. She collected 119 kills on the year for a 1.34 per-set average, while adding 62 total blocks (0.70 per set). Raker smashed a career-high 10 kills in two matches, while logging a career-best five blocks in three contests. She also hit a career-best .471 versus East Tennessee State (Sept. 19).
Spadafora, a journalism major with a 3.412 GPA, earned First Team All-MAC honors in 2014 after setting the Ball State offense to a .206 attack percentage for the season. She started all 30 matches as Ball State's setter and ranked fourth in the MAC with a 10.46 assists-per-set average. She handed out 1245 assists on the year, while also smashing 130 kills (1.09 per set). Spadafora also ranked second on the squad with 21 aces (0.18 per set) and 65 total blocks (0.55 per set).
Vasalakis, a communication studies major with a 3.819 GPA, played in all 30 matches and 119 sets for Ball State last season. She led the Cardinals with 399 digs and a 3.35 digs-per-set average. She also led the team's primary passers with a .949 reception percentage, successfully passing 618 of the 651 serves she received. Vasalakis collected double-digit digs in 15 matches, including a career-high 33 at Eastern Michigan (Nov. 8) which tied as the fifth-best single match total in the league over the course of the 2014 season.
Mangapora, a pre-med preparation major with a 4.00 GPA, was named to the All-MAC Second Team and MAC All-Freshman Team after finishing the year ranked second on the squad with 289 kills and a 2.68 kills-per-set average. She played in all 30 matches, earning 14 starts, and blasted double-digit kills in 15 matches, including a career-high 18 versus Western Michigan (Nov. 1). At the net, she led the Cardinals with 18 solo blocks, while ranking fourth on the squad with a 0.36 blocks-per-set average.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
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