June 11, 2007
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University volleyball standout Kim McGiven and Pepperdine's Richard Johnson were named the West Coast Conference's Female and Male Scholar Athletes of the Year, Commissioner Michael Gilleran announced Monday. McGiven, a three-time first-team All-WCC selection and owner of a 3.92 grade-point average while double majoring in finance and religious studies, is the fifth Santa Clara student-athlete to win the award in the past seven years, and sixth overall.
The highest honor in the WCC is selected by a vote of the conference's institutional representatives to recognize the finest accomplishments in athletics, academics and community service by individuals who have completed their WCC eligibility.
"I am honored to be the recipient of this award, especially given the many brilliant athletes here at Santa Clara and within our conference," said McGiven. "I am proud to represent Santa Clara with this honor, and I owe many thanks to my professors and the coaching staff for always supporting and encouraging me in my academic and community endeavors."
"We are all very proud of Kim's accomplishments here at Santa Clara and are pleased to see her recognized by the WCC for her selfless service to the university," said Santa Clara volleyball head coach Jon Wallace. "Kim has been an instrumental member of the Santa Clara community as a student, an athlete, and most importantly, a compassionate human being. She is the epitome of the well-rounded type of person that Santa Clara strives to produce."
A native of Encinitas, Calif., McGiven excelled on both the volleyball court and in the classroom. On the court, McGiven served as team captain of the Santa Clara volleyball team the past two seasons, helping lead the team to its first-ever Final Four berth in 2005 and earning Palo Alto Regional Co-MVP honors after leading the unseeded Broncos to wins over Pepperdine and Arizona in the third and fourth rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
McGiven, despite tearing the retinacular complex in her knee as a freshman, which wiped out her 2002 season, was thrice named to the All-WCC First Team, and ranks in Santa Clara's all-time top-five in three statistical categories. She ranks fifth in kills (1,327) and total attempts (3,685), and fourth overall in kills per game (3.47). Her defining moments at Santa Clara came in two of the greatest wins in program history, posting 19 kills at a .349 clip with 12 digs in a four-game victory over Stanford in the NCAA Tournament second round at Maples Pavilion on Dec. 3, 2005, and making 15 digs and putting down 25 kills, including the match-clinching point, in SCU's heart-stopping, five-set win over Arizona in the Palo Alto Regional final at Maples Pavilion on Dec. 10, 2005 that sent the Broncos to the Final Four.
McGiven's dominance extended to the classroom, as well, as she has posted a 3.92 cumulative grade-point average in her academic career at SCU, while double-majoring in finance and religious studies with a minor in environmental studies. She was twice named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and was also a three-time WCC All-Academic selection. In her time at SCU, McGiven has participated in a number of academic pursuits, including being a part of the Women and Religion Symposium Committee, working as a research assistant for the school's Religious Studies department, and speaking at a number of events such as: the SCU Women and Religion Conference, the St. Francis de Assisi Congregation, a meeting of the SCU Board of Trustees, and SCU's Ethics At Noon series.
She has also spent time serving the Santa Clara community, volunteering with the Through Young Life Camp and with the Big Brother/Big Sister program, in addition to serving at the Julian Street Inn homeless shelter.
McGiven has also endured her share of personal tragedy in her time on the Mission Campus. Besides suffering the on-court injury as a freshman, she survived three potentially deadly experiences in the span of a year in 2005 and 2006. In June 2005, she was woke up one night to discover her off-campus home on fire and burning down around her. Despite escaping the flames, she lost all of her possessions.
In April 2006, while vacationing on Zihuatenajo, Mexico, McGiven was stung by a scorpion, sending her to the hospital where it took four anti-venom shots and an injection of cortisone to save her life, but resulted in the temporary loss of feeling in her forearm and hand.
She was also struck by a car while riding her bike and was rushed to the hospital.
