Siena's Taylor Akana Named Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
MAAC Sports
Edison, N.J. - Siena College Volleyball captain Taylor Akana has been selected as one of just 30 Division I candidates nationally for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. The senior outside hitter from Kaneohe, Hawaii is the lone student athlete from conference to make the list.
The 2011 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time First Team All-MAAC selection, Akana enters her senior season fourth amongst all Division I student athletes with 1,361 career kills. She has led the conference in kills per set in each of her first three seasons and last year was one of just six student athletes named an ECAC All-Star after becoming the fastest player in MAAC history to reach both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs (65 matches).
Akana carries a 3.76 cumulative GPA in marketing. She was one of six student athletes in District 1 Named to the 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and is a two-time MAAC All-Academic and MAAC Honor Roll selection. At Siena, she is a member of several prestigious honors societies, including: Beta Gamma Sigma and Delta Epsilon Sigma. Of the 30 candidates, 10 have grade point averages of 3.5 or higher, Akana being one of them.
To be eligible for Senior CLASS award, a student athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
From the pool of 30 candidates, a list of 10 finalists will be announced midway through the regular season and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Premier Sports Management manages the award.