AUSTIN, Texas --- Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball senior Megan Kaufman has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) 2020-21 Academic All-America® Division I Volleyball Second Team, the CoSIDA office announced Monday.
 
A three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District® selection, Kaufman carries a perfect 4.0 GPA in the classroom as a nursing major and earns All-America® honors for the first time. She becomes the 25^th CoSIDA All-America® selection in school history and the first Academic All-America® Second Team honoree in program history. In addition, she is just the second to earn national laurels in the program following Christiana Teter (third team) in 2012.
 
Kaufman is the lone Southern Conference representative on either of the three 2020-21 teams and marks the fourth overall SoCon selection since 2012. In addition, the second team honor is just the second for the league since 2013, last achieved by Allison Penner (UNCG) in 2017.
 
Stanford University senior outside hitter Meghan McClue was named the 2020-21 Academic All-America® of the Year for Division I volleyball. Six of the 21 members, including Kaufman, boast a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate or graduate school work.
 
"I know I've said this before, but I don't know of someone who has epitomized the term 'student-athlete' as whole-heartedly, unconditionally, and with incredible focus and discipline as Megan has from the moment she stepped foot on campus in August 2017," said head coach Travis Filar.
 
"We talk all the time in our program about 'Mission First' which is the mindset of when we wake up and we get to attack the day, we want to do it with our best effort and the goal of it all is winning every moment and mission before us.
 
"Megan has done that day in and day out during her entire career at Chattanooga both in the classroom and on the court," added Filar.
 
On the floor, the Liberty Twp., Ohio native solidified the team's backcourt defense and finished her career with a 4.22 digs per set average, ranking seventh all-time at UTC with 1,400 career digs. She posted 613 digs during her freshman campaign, the second-most digs in a single season for a freshman in program history.
 
"Finally, and most importantly, that is also the mentality in how she goes about her everyday life and how she will also succeed in all she does after graduation. She is as relentless, hard-working, driven, and selfless of an individual I've ever coached in my 20 years."
 
Kaufman is expected to graduate from the UTC nursing program in December of 2021. GoMocs.com recently featured Kaufman's efforts in the classroom and on the court as part of its "Chatt Chats" feature series, which can be viewed by clicking this link.
 
"Congratulations Meg, I could not be more proud of you and happy for this incredible achievement," concluded Filar.
 
2020-21 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA® TEAMS
First Team
Brynn Carlson, Gr., Kansas State, 4.0 GPA
Gabby Curry, Gr., Kentucky, 3.84 GPA
Sydney Hilley, Sr., Wisconsin, 3.79 GPA
Nicole Lennon, Sr., Rice, 3.73 GPA
Madison Lilley, Sr., Kentucky, 3.61 GPA
Meghan McClure, Sr., Stanford, 4.0 GPA
Avery Skinner, Sr., Kentucky, 3.92 GPA
Lauren Swartz, Gr., Michigan State, 4.0 GPA
 
Second Team
Abby Bottomley, Sr., High Point, 3.90 GPA
Rylee Cookerly, Sr., Valpo, 3.96 GPA
Logan Eggleston, Jr., Texas, 3.52 GPA
Megan Kaufman, Sr., Chattanooga, 4.0 GPA*
Mac May, Gr., UCLA, 3.79 / 4.0 GPA
McKenna Melville, Jr., UCF, 3.92 GPA
Lexi Sun, Sr., Nebraska, 3.51 GPA
 
Third Team
Dana Axner, Jr., FGCU, 3.90 GPA
Kylie Deberg, Sr., Missouri, 3.53 GPA
Kennedy Eschenberg, Sr., BYU, 3.87 GPA
Anett Nemeth, Jr., Coastal Carolina, 3.94 GPA
Hannah Thompson, Jr., Bradley, 4.0 GPA
Cindy Tran, Gr., UC San Diego, 4.0 GPA
 
PAST MOCS COSIDA ACADEMIC SELECTIONS
Brenna Everingham – 2020-21 (All-District)
Megan Kaufman – 2020-21 (All-America)*
Megan Kaufman – 2020-21 (All-District)
Megan Kaufman – 2019 (All-District)
Megan Kaufman – 2018 (All-District)
Sarah Batterton – 2015 (All-District)
Christina Teter – 2012 (All-America)
Christina Teter – 2012 (All-District)
Christina Teter – 2011 (All-District)
Courtney Barnes – 2009 (All-District)
Courtney Barnes - 2008 (All-District)

MORE ABOUT CHATTANOOGA VOLLEYBALL
Watch "Mission First, Family Always" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8mOmxbzHk4&t=2s
Read "Mission First, Family Always" here: https://gomocs.com/news/2019/9/27/general-chatt-chats-mission-first-family-always.aspx?path=general

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