AUSTIN, Texas—The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the 2017 Academic All-America Division III volleyball teams Wednesday morning and among those honored to the third team was Bethel University middle blocker Kristin Stern.
 
Stern, who was highlighted on the seven-member CoSIDA Academic All-District Six (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin) First Team earlier this fall, was one of two MIAC athletes and four district six recipients to earn recognition on the 23-person Academic All-America teams. She's the first Bethel volleyball recipient since Amy Anderson was honored to the Academic All-America second team in 2007.
 
Eighteen of the 23 members on this year's CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III volleyball teams have at least a 3.90 GPA, with 11 student-athletes maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA. The seven members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.97.
 
The Sioux Falls, S.D., native put together a memorable career while donning navy and vegas. It started with the MIAC Rookie of the Year campaign in 2014, followed by helping her team reach the Elite 8 in her sophomore year, and finishing her senior season with four straight MIAC Playoff appearances and the program's all-time record for career hitting percentage (.326).
 
The Accounting and Finance major with a 3.96 GPA received five MIAC Player of the Week honors, one MIAC Elite 22 trophy, two MIAC All-Conference accolades, and two MIAC Academic All-Conference awards along the way.
 
The Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2017-18 Division III Academic All-America® teams program.