Grant, Jones Earn CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors
11/18/2021 1:18:00 PM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Redshirt sophomore Hannah Grant and senior outside hitter Paige Jones of the University of Michigan volleyball team were named to the Academic All-District Five first team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday (Nov. 18).
To be eligible, nominated student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve with a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, in his/her second year at the current institution and must have played in at least 50 percent of the team's matches. The selections for District Five include students from Division I programs in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
As the Wolverines' libero, Grant has started and played every set at her position this season. A Northville, Mich. native, she leads Michigan with 4.17 digs per set and ranks second on the team with 119 assists. Grant has recorded 21 double-digit dig efforts this season, including five performances of 20-or-more digs, and has led the Maize and Blue in digs 21 times. Her season-best performance came in the 2021 opener against LSU (Aug. 27) when she had 25 digs. After putting up 18 more in the following match against Florida State (Aug. 28), Grant was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (Aug. 30). She's also tied for second on the team with 25 aces on the season.
A 6-foot-1 outside hitter, Jones has been a mainstay in the lineup and an offensive weapon this season. The New Bremen, Ohio native leads Michigan with 3.59 kills per set and has had 17 matches with 10-or-more kills for a total of 309 kills on the year. Jones registered 19 kills against LSU (Aug. 27) to start the season and had another 19-kill performance against Penn State (Nov. 12). She is the team captain for the 2021 season and has started all but one match in her career.
Jones and Grant were two of 10 student-athletes to earn first team designation and are now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition. The All-District honor is the first for both.
