Cazemier, Sandru Garner Academic Awards (11/10/05)

BILLINGS, MT – Montana State-Billings volleyball players Alicia Cazemier and Alexis Sandru were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic District VII Third Team on Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America. 

Cazemier is a sophomore middle blocker from Vauxhall, Alberta, Canada.  She has a 3.87 cumulative grade point average majoring in Chemistry.  One of the top players in the Heartland Conference this season, Cazemier is among the conference leaders in several statistical categories.  She leads the Heartland in blocks per game, ranks second for attack percentage, and is eighth for kills per game.  She is also ranked twelfth nationally for attack percentage.  After just two seasons, Cazemier is already sixth in school history for total blocks and twelfth for kills.

Sandru is a junior outside hitter from Twin Bridges, MT.  She has a 4.00 cumulative grade point average majoring in English.  Sandru has had a breakout season in 2005, her first season as a starter for the Yellowjackets.  She has started all 26 matches and played in all 96 games this season, ranking fourth on the team at 2.07 kills per game.  Sandru also ranks third on the team defensively at 3.26 digs per game.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America program divides universities into eight districts.  Schools from Montana are part of District VII, which also includes Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Nominees for the All-District VII Volleyball Team could come from any Division II, Division III, or NAIA school in any of those states or provinces.

The Yellowjackets were 19-7 overall and qualified for the Heartland Conference Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed.  They will face No. 2 Incarnate Word on Friday in Austin, TX.  The winner will move on to Saturday evening’s championship match.

The complete CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams can be viewed at www.cosida.com.