Temple University Athletics
Coundourides Named Volleyball Academic All-American
12.8.16 | Women's Volleyball
PHILADELPHIAÂ -- Temple volleyball player Kyra Coundourides capped her fall season by earning Academic All-American honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The junior setter was named to the third team, after earning a first-team Academic All-District selection earlier this year.Â
"I'm really happy for Kyra, this is a great accomplishment by her, but also by the University itself," said Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "Something like this can't be accomplished without the support system we have in place, including Justin Miller, Senior Director of the Resnick Center and Nick Plack, our academic advisor. It really shows the dedication that our department and our university have to the success of our student-athletes in the classroom."
Coundourides becomes just the 26th player in Temple history with the honor, and the first since 2013. She is also only the second Owls' volleyball player with the national recognition, with Heidi Lombardo, also a setter, earning second-team honors in 1996.Â
The starting setter for the Owls, Coundourides ranked 28th in the nation in total assists this season, racking up 1,254 helpers to average 10.90 per set. She helped the Owls to a .248 team hitting percentage, the best among American Athletic Conference squads. Coundourides piled on 35 services aces this season, ranking third in the conference, while also tallying 15 double-doubles with 2.43 digs per set. Coundourides and her teammates led the 2016 Temple team to its highest NCAA RPI ranking since the 2002 season (#47), with the Owls finishing 22-8 overall.Â
In the classroom, Coundourides is a Kinesiology major with a 4.00 grade-point average. She volunteers as a pen pal for local Philadelphia elementary school students and has also volunteered at Southwest General Hospital & Seidman Cancer Center near her hometown of Brunswick, Ohio.
CoSIDA's Academic All-America program began in 1952 and currently sponsors programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field/cross country, as well as student-athletes who compete in other sports through the At-Large program. Â Among the criteria for nomination, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA and must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
Complete Academic All-America Volleyball Teams
"I'm really happy for Kyra, this is a great accomplishment by her, but also by the University itself," said Head Coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam. "Something like this can't be accomplished without the support system we have in place, including Justin Miller, Senior Director of the Resnick Center and Nick Plack, our academic advisor. It really shows the dedication that our department and our university have to the success of our student-athletes in the classroom."
Coundourides becomes just the 26th player in Temple history with the honor, and the first since 2013. She is also only the second Owls' volleyball player with the national recognition, with Heidi Lombardo, also a setter, earning second-team honors in 1996.Â
The starting setter for the Owls, Coundourides ranked 28th in the nation in total assists this season, racking up 1,254 helpers to average 10.90 per set. She helped the Owls to a .248 team hitting percentage, the best among American Athletic Conference squads. Coundourides piled on 35 services aces this season, ranking third in the conference, while also tallying 15 double-doubles with 2.43 digs per set. Coundourides and her teammates led the 2016 Temple team to its highest NCAA RPI ranking since the 2002 season (#47), with the Owls finishing 22-8 overall.Â
In the classroom, Coundourides is a Kinesiology major with a 4.00 grade-point average. She volunteers as a pen pal for local Philadelphia elementary school students and has also volunteered at Southwest General Hospital & Seidman Cancer Center near her hometown of Brunswick, Ohio.
CoSIDA's Academic All-America program began in 1952 and currently sponsors programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and men's and women's track and field/cross country, as well as student-athletes who compete in other sports through the At-Large program. Â Among the criteria for nomination, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA and must have reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
Complete Academic All-America Volleyball Teams
Players Mentioned
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