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SU's Jessica Cooper named NAIA Volleyball 3rd Team All-American
By Matt Green
KANSAS CITY -- Shorter University senior volleyball standout Jessica Cooper has been named to the 2011 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America third team NAIA officials announced on Monday.
Cooper, a 6-foot middle blocker, becomes just the second volleyball player in school history to earn All-America honors -- former Lady Hawk standout Kasi Runion was an NAIA honorable mention All-America selection in 2009.
Cooper enjoyed one of the most productive seasons in program history while leading the Lady Hawks to a school record 29 wins in 2011.
The Grant, Ala., native ranked third on the team in kills with 313 while hitting .398 for the season, the second-best single season hitting percentage in Shorter history. She spent much of the season hitting well above .400 and her 2011 hitting percentage trails only Kate Puckett's .470 attacking percentage in 2005.
Cooper ranked fifth in the Southern States Athletic Conference with 122 total blocks and ends her two-year Shorter career with 231 blocks, a number that ranks fifth on Shorter's all-time list. Cooper was named the SSAC East Division Player of the Year in November, becoming the fifth Shorter volleyball player to earn Conference Player of the Year honors, and was named to the All-SSAC team for the first time in her career in 2011.
Off the court, Cooper, an Early Childhood Education major, was named to the SSAC All-Academic team for the second consecutive year and was also honored as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete for the second straight time in 2011.
Concordia (Calif.) junior outside hitter Brooke Marino was named the 2011 NAIA Player of the Year after leading her team to a runner-up finish at the 2011 NAIA Volleyball National Championship. Concordia head coach Dan Fisher picked up National Coach of the Year accolades.
