ST. LOUIS, MO. – A pair of Drake volleyball players earned Scholar-Athlete honors from the Missouri Valley Conference. Defensive standouts Kacie Rewerts and Jada Wills collected the academic award to add to the Bulldogs' successful 2022 campaign.
 
Rewerts, a 2021 First Team Scholar-Athlete honoree, was recognized for the second-consecutive season. She currently holds a 3.93 grade point average while studying Kinesiology. Rewerts is nearing the top 10 of Drake's all-time blocks list with 274. She also led the MVC this regular season with 138 total blocks and an average of 1.37 blocks per set. The Nevada, Iowa native tied for the most blocks in a three-set match during the MVC season with eight versus Murray State (10/29). She recorded a season-high nine blocks on two separate occasions and tied her career high with 13 total points in a five-set win at Missouri State (10/1). Not only was she a defensive stalwart with at least three blocks in 25 of the Bulldogs' 30 matches, but she also improved her offensive output by nearly double with 112 kills, 10 assists, and 16 aces this season.
 
Drake libero Jada Wills collected scholar-athlete honors for the first time in her career. The Management and Organizational Leadership student has earned a 3.82 grade point average. After being signed as an outside hitter, Wills transitioned to the libero position and quickly ascended the Drake record books. At the end of the regular season, the Dubuque, Iowa native ranks seventh on Drake all-time single season digs list with 582. That number was good enough for second-most in the MVC. She recorded double-digit digs in every match for Drake this season including 30+ three times and a season-high 32 at Valparaiso (9/24).
 
With a 4.00 grade point average, Illinois State's Kaity Weimerskirch was named MVC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Redbirds' senior libero is a two-time selection on the scholar-athlete team.
 
Thirty-eight student-athletes were nominated for the MVC's scholar-athlete team. The criterion for the honor parallels the CSC (College Sports Communicators) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75-percent of the regular-season matches. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore status in both athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were not eligible).