Fayette, Mo. - Two members of the Central Methodist Volleyball program earned 2024 CSC Academic All-District honors in the NAIA Division.
Junior outside Joana Milho and graduate outside/middle Annabelle Maassen were the two Eagles representing the program.
The 2024 Academic All-District® Volleyball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes volleyball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
Milho, a communications major from Lisboa, Portugal, earned All-District honors for the first time in her career. She appeared in 34 matches and 118 sets for Central. She finished her junior year hitting .211 while averaging 3.15 kills/set. Milho led the the team in both kills (376) and kills/set.
She posted double-digit kills 19 times including a career-best 23 kills against Benedictine on Oct. 4. She was named the Heart Attacker of the Week two times, and landed on the Heart All-Conference First Team.
Additionally, Milho was named to the All-Midwest Region First Team by the American Volleyball Coaches' Association for the first time in her career.
Maassen is a fifth year graduate student pursuing her masters in business administration from Central. She served as a team captain during her final season on the court for the Eagles, starting 33 matches while playing in 112 total sets.
The native from Jefferson City, Missouri saved her best season for last, setting single-season career bests in kills (263), kills/set (2.35), digs/set (2.99) and points (320.5). For her efforts, she earned Heart First Team All-Conference honors for the second-straight year. She also earned Honorable Mention All-Midwest Region honors from the AVCA.
Maassen produced double digit kills 11 times. Additionally, the super senior was also named the Heart Attacker of the Week for the first time in her career on Oct. 14.
She concludes her illustrious career as a five-time Heart All-Conference selection and a two-time All-Region honoree.
Additionally, Maassen is the only known player in program history whose name can be found in the Top 10 in all of the following career statisical categories; kills (4th - 994), service aces (2nd - 174), digs (3rd - 1484), block assists (6th - 193), and total blocks (7th - 224).
The pair of Milho and Maassen led the Eagles to a 26-8 overall record, the program's first outright Heart Regular Season Conference Championship since 2004 and its seventh-straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament.
To view the CSC release on the 2024-25 Women's Volleyball Academic All-District Teams, please click here.
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