SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kirsten Mead has excelled on the court, on the sand and in the classroom throughout her time on the Mission campus. The Bronco senior was named to a West Coast Conference All-Academic Team for the sixth time as part of the conference's beach volleyball awards, announced Wednesday. As a four-year student-athlete playing two sports, Mead earned the maximum possible three all-conference accolades for both beach volleyball and indoor volleyball.
Allison Kantor, Hailey Lindberg, Taylor Odom and Erin Reineking received WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention recognition as part of the conference honors.
Mead, an economics (BSC) major with a 3.93 GPA, played at the No. 1 spot for all 14 duals of her senior campaign. The Palo Alto, California native teamed up with Lindberg to cap her Santa Clara career with a three-set victory against Portland in the season finale at the WCC Championship.
Mead was named to CoSIDA's Academic All-District® 8 Volleyball First Team during the 2017 indoor season and its Academic All-District® 8 Women's At-Large Second Team during the 2017 beach season.
Lindberg, a junior marketing major with a 3.31 GPA, receives an all-academic honorable mention for the second straight season. She teamed up with Mead for the season-finale dual win over the Pilots.
Kantor (communication – 3.82), Odom (economics – 3.36), and Reineking (psychology – 3.31) each earned their first beach all-academic awards. Kantor went 3-2 at the No. 4 position and 2-1 in WCC matches. Odom teamed up with Tessie Powers for a dual victory at No. 3 against San José State on April 7. Reineking's six dual victories were tied for most on the team alongside Michelle Gajdka.
To be considered for the league academic honors, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to her team.