More postseason awards recognized two senior middle hitters at Wayne State College on the academic side.
According to a release from Wayne State Athletics, Taya Beller and Maggie Brahmer were selected for the 2024 Academic All-District Volleyball Team chosen by College Sports Communicators.
The program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. Both players advance to the All-American ballot with the All-American teams announced Tuesday, January 14.
Beller, a 6-2 middle hitter from Lindsay (Humphrey HS), earned Academic All-District honors for a third straight season with a 3.74 grade point average majoring in business management and human resources management. She was named AVCA All-American First Team for a third straight season and All-NSIC First Team for a fourth straight year after ranking second in the NSIC this season in kills per set (3.51), blocks (1.29) and points per set (4.52) and was third in hitting percentage at .349.
Beller ends her Wayne State career ranked fourth on the all-time kills list with 1,545 and second in career hitting percentage at .369. She is also a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American earning First Team honors last year and Third Team accolades two years ago.
Brahmer, a 6-0 middle hitter from Pierce (Pierce HS), is a CSC Academic All-District honoree for the first time maintaining a 3.69 grade point average with a bachelor’s degree in physical education while pursuing a masters in 7-12 school administration.
On the court this season, Brahmer was named AVCA All-American for a third straight season while being named All-NSIC First Team for a fourth straight year after leading the NSIC for a fourth straight season in hitting percentage at .381, which ranked 19th in NCAA Division II this season.
She recorded 2.71 kills and 1.06 blocks per set, which ranked seventh in the NSIC and had at least two blocks in all but one match this season for the Wildcats.
Brahmer ended her Wildcat career as the school’s all-time leader in hitting percentage at .422, which ranks fourth all-time in NCAA Division II. She also had 1,346 career kills that currently ranks 14th all-time and was a D2CCA All-America First Team selection as a sophomore and junior.
Wayne State ended the 2024 season with a record of 23-7 overall and third place in the NSIC with a 14-4 league mark. It was the sixth straight year and 19th time in the last 20 seasons WSC volleyball posted a 20-win season.
Also, 2024 marked the fifth straight season and 15th time in the last 18 years, the Wayne State College volleyball team ended their season ranked in the Top 25. The Wildcats were listed 19th in the final 2024 AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll released late Tuesday afternoon.
WSC received 346 points in voting conducted by various Division II coaches from across the country.
