Four Bruins named to CSC Academic All-District team
GREENWOOD, Ind. -- The College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced their 2024 women's volleyball Academic All-District teams this afternoon, and the Bruins had four student-athletes recognized.
Student-athletes from NCAA Division I, II, and III, as well as the NAIA, were recognized for this honor.
Representing Bellevue University on the CSC Women's Volleyball Academic All-District team were senior middle blocker Haley Fleischman (Overton, Neb.), junior outside hitter Eve Fountain (Omaha, Neb.), junior rightside hitter Kealy Kiviniemi (Bellevue, Neb.), and senior rightside hitter Sidney Sledge (Omaha, Neb.).
Fleischman earned first-team all-NSAA and all-North Central Region honors for the third time in her Bruin career. She ranked third on the team with a .341 hitting percentage and averaged a team third-best 0.77 blocks per set, finishing the season with 171 kills, 79 blocks, 40 digs, and 21 assists. Fleischman delivered a season-high 12 kills on 17 errorless swings in the Bruins' four-set victory over Carroll on Oct. 12 and committed just two attacking errors in nine matches during the month of October.
Kiviniemi earned first-team NAIA and AVCA All-American honors. She was named the NSAA Player of the Year and NSAA Offensive Player of the Year while also earning AVCA North Central Region Player of the Year honors. She led the team and the NSAA with 450 kills and was second with 3.36 kills per set and a .353 hitting percentage. Kiviniemi, who earned first-team all-NSAA honors for the second straight season, was third on the team with 71 total blocks. She was named the NSAA Attacker of the Week four times and registered double-digit kills in 29 matches, including 17 straight matches.
Fountain, who earned all-tournament team honors at the NAIA National Championships, garnered first-team all-NSAA accolades for the fourth time in her Bruin career. She was named a first-team NAIA and AVCA All-American for the second time while also being named to the AVCA all-North Central Region first team for the third time. Fountain led the team with 3.37 kills per set and 16 double-doubles. She was second on the squad with 437 kills and 449 digs (3.45 dpg). Fountain, who earned NSAA Attacker of the Week honors twice during the season, pounded a season-high 23 kills on .413 hitting, along with 16 digs in the NAIA National Championship match against Indiana Wesleyan.
Sledge played in all 37 matches on the right side and was third on the team with 248 kills. She hit .265 while adding 42 blocks and 74 digs. Sledge registered six matches with double-figure kill totals. Sledge slammed a season-high 12 kills, both in the National Tournament. She hit .647 with 12 kills on 17 swings in BU's 3-0 win over Marian in the Bruins' first Pool Play match at Nationals. Sledge tallied 12 kills on .385 hitting in the Bruins' five-set win over No. 4 Concordia (Neb.) in the NAIA Quarterfinals.
To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a sophomore both academically and athletically. They must have competed in 90% of the institution's games/contests/sets played or must start in at least 66% of the games/contests/sets. The student-athlete must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale). Graduate students must have a minimum of 3.50 for both their graduate program GPA and their undergraduate GPA.
All four student-athletes will move onto the CSC Academic All-America ballot, with the announcement of those teams coming out on January 14.
The Bruins wrapped up the 2024 season as the NAIA National Runner-Up with an overall record of 32-5. Bellevue captured the North Star Athletic Association regular season and post-season tournament titles while advancing to the NAIA National Tournament for the 17th time in school history. Their second-place finish at Nationals was the best showing in school history. Bellevue finished the season ranked No. 2 in the final NAIA top 25 poll.