Wednesday, December 21, 2022
PORTLAND, Ore. – She has already been honored as one of the best in the country on the court but now Alaska Anchorage’s Eve Stephens is being recognized as one of the best in the classroom as well.
The senior right-side hitter was named Tuesday as a Division II First Team Academic All-American as selected by College Sports Communicators. She becomes the first volleyball player in GNAC history to be named a First Team Academic All-American. Combined with her third-team selection in 2021, Stephens is just the fourth GNAC volleyball to be named an Academic All-American.
The 2022 GNAC Player of the Year and just the fourth player in conference history to be named First Team All-GNAC four times, Stephens was also named the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Player of the Year and was named a First Team All-American by both the D2CCA and the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She was also named the West Region Player of the Year by both organizations.
Carrying a 3.91 GPA as an accounting major, Stephens was the only West Region player named to the Academic All-America Team.
Stephens led Alaska Anchorage to a 27-3 record and its first GNAC championship since 2016, Stephens led the conference with 4.75 kills and 5.78 points per set while ranking second with 0.53 aces per set. She ranked in the NCAA Division II top 30 in all three categories, including second in points per set and third in kills per set. In the process, Stephens set the GNAC career records with 1,926 kills and 2,292 points.
Nominated and voted upon by members of College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), nominees for the Academic All-America program must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, must be in their second year at the nominating institution, must be a starter or important reserve for their team and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater.
Stephens was one of 18 GNAC players to receive Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators and is one of just two GNAC players to be named Academic All-District in three different seasons.