Nov. 4, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's volleyball senior libero Alyssa D'Errico (Byron, N.Y.) has been named ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District II, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced. She is one of eight student-athletes named to the second team in District II.
This is the first ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honor of D'Errico's career. D'Errico is also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
D'Errico is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in business marketing and holds a 3.31 grade point average. As the starting libero, D'Errico leads the Nittany Lions with 307 digs (3.99 digs per set) so far this season and recently eclipsed the 1,000 digs milestone for her career. She also leads the team with 38 service aces and her 0.49 aces per set currently ranks second in the Big Ten and 13th in the nation. Her 135 career service aces rank seventh all-time at Penn State. A member of three national championship squads, this year D'Errico's consistent passing has guided the Nittany Lions to a conference-leading .306 hitting percentage, which also ranks fourth in the nation.
D'Errico is one of nine Big Ten student-athletes honored by CoSIDA and ESPN The Magazine. Purdue's Kristen Arthurs and Illinois' Johannah Bangert were named First Team All-District 5, while Northwestern's Sabel Moffett, Wisconsin's Janelle Gabrielsen and Minnesota's Lauren Gibbemeyer were named to the second team. Ohio State's Katie Dull and Anna Szerszen earned Second Team All-District 4 laurels and Michigan State's Jenilee Rathje was selected to the third team, also for District 4.
To be nominated for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative gpa. The nominated athlete must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games and must be of sophomore academic standing. All First Team Academic All-District honorees from each of the eight districts advance to the national ballot and are eligible for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors.
The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions travel to Michigan on Friday, Nov. 5 for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Wolverines. The match will be tape-delayed and aired on ESPN2 on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 6, Penn State takes on Michigan State at 6:30 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.