Dec. 4, 2007

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio seniors Melissa Griffin and Stephanie Blackburn, along with sophomore Ellen Herman, have once again been recognized by the Mid-American Conference for their achievements. The three standout volleyball players, who were each named to the All-MAC First Team earlier this year, have been selected to the 2007 Volleyball Academic All-MAC Team, as voted on by faculty athletic representatives at MAC institutions.

Ohio's three selections to the team lead the conference and Griffin, the 2007 MAC Player of the Year, is the only student-athlete on this year's team to be a three-time honoree.

Griffin carries a 3.76 cumulative GPA as a hearing/speech and language services major. The Whitehall, Mich., native finished her career at Ohio as the all-time leader in kills (1,678), hitting percentage (.349) and points (1,977.5) and sits in third in total blocks (433). This past season Griffin led the MAC in hitting percentage (.438), kills per game (4.75) and was seventh in blocks per game (1.06).

Blackburn, a pre-medicine major with a 3.46 cumulative GPA, was named to the team for a second time. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native finished her Bobcat career as the first player in Ohio history to record over 1,400 kills and 1,600 digs. Blackburn is fourth all-time in kills (1,465), second in digs (1,680) and third in service aces (162). This season Blackburn totaled 16 double-doubles, bringing her career total to 62.

Herman, a health service administration major with a 3.43 cumulative GPA, earned academic All-MAC honors after becoming the first player in Ohio history to be selected first-team All-MAC in each of her first two seasons. The sophomore from Toledo, Ohio, averaged 4.07 kills per game this season and hit .243. In just two years at Ohio Herman has already amassed 901 kills, putting her just 47 away from breaking into the top-10 in Ohio history.

Since the 1987 season 13 Ohio volleyball players have been named to the Academic All-MAC Team.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.

2007 Volleyball Academic All-MAC Team
% Stephanie Swiger, Bowling Green
Chelsey Meek, Bowling Green
% Sarah Warner, Central Michigan
% Kate Sulewski, Eastern Michigan
Jillian Wolosiansky, Eastern Michigan
% Anja Knabe-Paulsen, Kent State
% Anne Zakelj, Kent State
% Carli Reihman, Miami
Megan Griffin, Miami
Irene Johnson, Northern Illinois
% Stephanie Blackburn, Ohio
$ Melissa Griffin, Ohio
Ellen Herman, Ohio
Kate Eberling, Western Michigan
% Ashley Vogl, Western Michigan

$ Three-time Academic All-MAC selection % Two-time Academic All-MAC selection

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Wes Liles is the volleyball contact in the Ohio media relations office. He can be reached via email at liles@ohio.edu.