Four Bulls Named Academic All-MAC
12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, NY - The Mid-American Conference announced Wednesday afternoon the 2015 Volleyball Academic All-MAC Team. A total of 71 student-athletes were named to the team from 2015. Amongst those honored were four members of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York: Akeila Lain, Megan Lin, Megan Lipski, and Tessa Ooyama.
Lain, who has a 3.353 GPA and is majoring in Psychology, finished the season with 169 kills and 82 total blocks. She had six matches where she finished in double figures in kills, led by a 12-kill and just two-error performance in a 3-1 win at Akron. That was one of three matches on the year where Lain had 12 kills. Lain added nine total blocks early in the season against Southern Mississippi.
Lin is a Management major with a 3.328 GPA. She played in 20 matches this past season, mostly as a serving specialist. She finished the year with 12 aces and 28 digs. Lin had three aces against Kent State and two in a win at Bowling Green. She had a season-high four digs against Eastern Michigan
Lipski is also a Management major with a 3.616 GPA and was named All-MAC Honorable Mention following the season. She led the Bulls in kills and digs this season with 327 kills and 346 digs. Lipski had 14 double-doubles on the year including the first 20-kill, 20-dig match for the Bulls in nearly two years. Lipski became just the ninth player in school history to accomplish the feat when she had 20 kills and a career-high 27 digs in a win at Eastern Michigan. Lipski had a stretch in conference play where she had three straight 20-dig performances, including 26 digs against Western Michigan and 20 digs against MAC Regular Season Champion, Northern Illinois. She had 20 kills twice this year, at Eastern Michigan and home against Bowling Green, both wins for the Bulls. In all she reached double figures in kills 18 times during the year.
Ooyama, a Biomedical Engineering major with a 3.838 GPA, played in 26 matches before her season was cut short due to injury. She became the team's starting libero late in non-conference play and held on to that role until the injury. She finished second on the team with 299 digs, a career best for the sophomore. She had 15 matches where she reached double figures in digs, led by a 23-dig performance vs. Toledo. She had 22 digs in the win at Central Michigan and added 19 digs in five-set matches against Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan. She also added 42 assists and 10 aces on the year.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. Freshmen and first-year players aren't eligible.
