Dec. 29, 2011

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss' Lauren Sears was named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Volleyball second team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Sears carries a perfect 4.0 GPA in mathematics and computer science. The senior middle blocker led the Golden Eagles in total blocks, hitting percentage and aces and ranked third on the team in kills. She was a three-time C-USA All-Academic Team, Commissioner's List and Academic Medal honoree. Sears has been named Academic All-District three times and has earned a spot on the President's List throughout her athletic career.

Sears was one of two Conference USA student-athlete (Stephanie Figueroa, UTEP) to earned Academic All-America® honors.

To be eligible for 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 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports. Capital One 2011 Academic All-America® Division I Volleyball Team

FIRST TEAM
Name	              School	    Yr.	Hometown	        GPA   Major
Suzy Boulavsky (3)    Oklahoma	    Sr.	Houston, Texas	        3.97  Public Relations
Stephanie Browne (3)  Stanford	    Gr.	Danville, Cal.	        3.95  Sociology
Katherine Fischer (3) Oregon	    Jr.	Los Altos, Cal.	        4.02  Accounting
Kristin Hoffman (3)   N. Illinois   Sr.	Batavia, Ill.	        3.97  History
Kristy Jaeckel	      Florida	    Gr.	Littleton, Col.	        4.00  Sport Management
Kelly Williamson (3)  New Mexico    Sr.	Buenos Aires, Argentina	4.00  Conservation Biology
SECOND TEAM
Name	              School	    Yr.	Hometown		GPA  Major
Cecilia Agraz	      Fresno State  Jr.	Hanford, Calif.		4.00 Communication, Political Science
Stephanie Figueroa     UTEP        Sr.	Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico4.00 Multidisciplinary Studies
Jenna Miller	      Tenn-Martin   Sr.	Highland Village, Texas	4.00 Political Science
Jenilee Rathje	      Michigan StateGr.	Mount Pleasant, Mich.	3.84 Kinesiology
Lauren Sears	      Southern Miss Sr.	Ashburn, Va.		4.00 Mathematics
Ariel Turner	      Purdue	    Jr.	Highlands Ranch, Col.	3.62 Mechanical Engineering
THIRD TEAM
Name	              School	    Yr.	Hometown	        GPA   Major
Lauren Campbell	      No. Arizona   Jr.	Covington, Wash.	4.00  Mechanical Engineering
Paige Dossey	      SE Missouri St.Sr.Avon, Ind.	        4.00  Exceptional Child Education
Kelsey Jewasko	      UTSA          Sr. San Antonio, Texas	3.93 Interdisciplinary Studies
Emma Keough	      Morehead St   Gr.	Batavia, Ohio           4.00  Education
Allison McGlaughlin   No. Illinois  Sr.	Morton, Ill.	        3.96  Elementary Education
Vineece Verdun	      Georgia St    Sr.	Bloomfield Hills, Mich.	3.98  Public Policy
Division I Academic All-American of the Year: Kristy Jaeckel, University of Florida
(3) CoSIDA Academic All-America® University Division third team selection in 2010