Sandru, Cazemier Named to Academic Team (11/9/06)

BILLINGS, MT – Montana State-Billings volleyball players Alexis Sandru and Alicia Cazemier have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII teams by the College Sports Information Directors of America.  Sandru was named to the first team and will advance to national Academic All-America balloting.  Cazemier was selected to the third team.  Both players were third team selections last year. 

Sandru is a senior outside hitter from Twin Bridges, MT.  An English major, she has a 3.98 cumulative grade point average at MSU Billings.  The only blemishes against a perfect GPA are two A- grades.  Sandru ranks fifth in school history for career digs and is also in the top 10 for career games played.  She is currently third on the team for digs this season, averaging 2.92 per game.

Cazemier is a junior middle blocker from Vauxhall, AB.  She has a 3.77 cumulative GPA majoring in Chemistry.  Cazemier has received numerous honors for her play in the past two weeks.  She was named to the Heartland All-Conference First Team, she was the Heartland Conference Tournament MVP, and most recently she was selected to the Daktronics All-Region First Team.  Cazemier is the school record holder for attack percentage and solo blocks and is within five blocks of breaking the all-time school record for total blocks.

The Yellowjackets have posted their best season in school history.  They are currently 25-4 after winning the Heartland Conference Championship, their first conference title in school history.  MSUB is making its first appearance in school history at the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.  The Jackets open the tournament tonight at 4:00 p.m. MST against Western New Mexico.  The tourney is being held in Canyon, TX.

The CoSIDA Academic All-America program divides colleges and 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.