Seidenstricker, Vodopich Earn First-Team Academic All-District Honors
Junior right-side hitter and senior setter recognized for their exploits on the court and in the classroom by CoSIDA.
Springfield, Ohio — Junior right-side hitter Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) and senior setter Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) have been recognized for the combination of their athletic and academic accomplishments with first-team Capital One Academic All-America Division III All-District 7 honors.
The district awards of the Academic All-America program are awarded following nominations and online voting by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Only student-athletes who make the first team in district voting, as Seidenstricker and Vodopich did, can be considered for Academic All-America awards, which will be announced later this month.
Vodopich is the Tigers’ leader in assists for a second straight year, and her 706 helpers during the 2014 campaign have boosted her career total to 2,896, which ranks fourth in Wittenberg history. She also ranks among the best on the team with 224 digs and 42 service aces this season.
Her outstanding senior season extends an outstanding collegiate career for Vodopich, which includes 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Newcomer of the Year honors in 2011 and first-team All-NCAC, NCAC Tournament MVP and honorable mention All-Great Lakes Region honors in 2013.
Off the court, Vodopich carries a 3.84 grade point average while carrying a double major in political science and economics. She is also active on campus as a member of the several honors societies, Student Senate and the university’s Budget and Compensation Advisory Committee.
Seidenstricker is enjoying another exceptional season in 2014 as well, leading the Tigers in kills with 306 and service aces with 48, and ranking among the team leaders in digs with 292 and blocks with 58. For her career, Seidenstricker has piled up 1,049 kills, 969 digs, 171 blocks and 156 service aces.
Seidenstricker started her career by earning an unprecedented series of awards, including NCAC Newcomer of the Year, NCAC Player of the Year, Great Lakes Region Player of the Year, Great Lakes Region Freshman of the Year, first-team NCAA Division III All-America and NCAA Division III Freshman of the Year. She followed that with first-team All-NCAC, first-team All-Great Lakes Region, second-team All-America and third-team Academic All-America honors a year ago. In addition, Seidenstricker has earned a spot on the NCAC All-Tournament team each of the last two years.
Her excellence on the court has been matched by her work in the classroom. Seidenstricker owns a 3.9 grade point average toward a major in education and a minor in psychology.
The Tigers head into this weekend’s NCAC Tournament with records of 24-3 overall and 8-0 in the league, good for first place in the final standings for the ninth straight year and the 20th time since Wittenberg became a member in 1989. Wittenberg, which has won 51 straight NCAC regular season matches, is ranked fourth in the nation currently.