KANSAS CITY – Salem's Kathryn O'Connell was named to the 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District volleyball team on Thursday, Nov. 14 for her performance both on the court and in the classroom. The CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors Association) distinction marks the second postseason honor for O'Connell, who was named Second Team East Division by the USA South Conference a week ago.
O'Connell, who is the only volleyball player selected to the NCAA Division III District 5 unit from a USA South Conference, has a 3.98 GPA in biochemistry at Salem. She is joined on the team by Courtney Berry (Washington & Lee), Wren Berry (Mary Washington), Kiera Borthwick (Washington & Lee), Lauren Dwyer (Hendrix), Rebecca Erwin (Birmingham-Southern), Maureen Schick (Emory) and Lauren Stanford (Lynchburg).
Honorees who were named Academic All-District advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot, which will be announced in early December.
On the court, O'Connell finished the season in the top-five of 11 statistical categories, ranking first in kills (271), kills / set (2.66), solo blocks (27), assisted blocks (66), total blocks (93) and blocks / set (0.91). The Harrisburg, N.C., native reached double-digit kills in 16 of 28 matches, notching a single-match season-high 14 in clashes with USA South foes Mary Baldwin (Sept. 28) and Greensboro (Nov. 5).
O'Connell ended her junior slate by eclipsing double figure digs in 19 matches, coming through with a single-match season-high 21 in a four-set win over N.C. Wesleyan (Oct. 5). She posted 12 double-doubles over the course of the season, including six between Oct. 1 and Nov. 5.
O'Connell also made her presence felt on Salem's front row, posting at least multiple solo blocks on nine occasions, including a four-block outing against Greensboro (Oct. 5). The best of her 16 multi-assisted-block performances came versus both Piedmont International (Sept. 17) and Emory & Henry (Nov. 3), where she tallied seven apiece.
For more information on Salem volleyball check out www.salemspirits.com.