OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Savanah Leaf was announced as one of 30 NCAA women’s volleyball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate volleyball.
To be eligible for the 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.
“It is great to see Savanah get recognized for her accomplishments in the classroom, on the court and in life,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. “Savanah is a great representative of our program and University. She is smart, determined and will be successful as a volleyball player, as well as in life after volleyball.”
A Preseason All-ACC selection, Leaf ranks 24th in the nation with 4.90 points/set and 37th in the country with 4.20 kills/set. She leads Miami with 84 kills on the season and ranks third in the ACC in kills/set.
“I feel really honored,” Leaf said. “I really appreciate that someone would select me for this. It motivates me to work even harder this year.”
Leaf, who finished one block short of a triple-double against TCU last weekend, was a 2013 All-ACC and All-ACC Academic honoree. The San Anselmo, Calif., native is one of only three student-athletes from the ACC selected as candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
“Savanah is great ambassador and leader for our all of our student-athletes and University,” Associate AD for Academic Services David Wyman said. “She has been excellent in the classroom and exemplary in the sport of volleyball. I am tremendously proud of her and this nomination is fitting for all she has and will accomplish as she completes her collegiate career.”
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.
Of the 30 candidates, 23 have grade point averages of 3.0 or higher, including 15 with GPAs of 3.5 or higher. There are five returning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, and 10 are members of teams ranked in the AVCA top 25 coaches preseason poll.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists 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 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in December.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
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