Volleyball's Buehler gets academic honor

November 13, 2003
St. Thomas volleyball standout Emily Buehler (SR-Mazeppa/Zumbrota-Mazeppa) is among six players voted first-team Co-SIDA Academic All-District. There were 18 players honored on three teams from 100 nominees -- including 28 with gpas of 3.80 or higher -- in District Five, which includes Division II and III and NAIA teams.

Buehler, the lone MIAC first-team honoree, has a 3.976 gpa in Justice and Peace Studies. She's among six who go onto the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration.

St. Thomas middle blocker Kristin Pins (SR-Dubuque, Iowa/Senior) is among four MIAC players named to the second team, joining Concordia junior setter Jessica Walden, Gustavus' Rachel Batladen and Hamline's Laura Fleischmann.

In 102 games this season, Buehler averaged 2.47 kills, 4.20 digs, 0.38 blocks, 0.78 assists, 0.72 service aces per game with a .209 hitting percentage. She helped the Tommies to a top-10 national ranking at mid-season and 24-6 finish, with the school's second consecutive MIAC championship. Buehler, a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree in 2002, was a three-year starter and helped St. Thomas compile a 97-31 record in her era. She closed her career with 1,337 digs and 746 kills and was second in UST history in service aces with 253. In basketball, she was a starter and co-captain last season when she averaged 9.2 ppg and 4.6 rpg while shooting 56% from the field. She's a campus volunteer leader with Vision service program and a campus hospitality minister.

Pins has a 3.92 gpa in English and was a third-team Academic All-District honoree in 2002. Pins, a four-year starter, played 312 career games (104 matches) and had a school-record 325 assisted blocks and 80 solo blocks, 682 kills and 139 digs.

2003 CoSIDA District Five Volleyball Team
Women's College Division
Position/Name/School/District/Year/Hometown/GPA/Major
M. Hitter--Melissa Braaksma, Lakeland, SR, Randolph, Wis., 4.00, Accounting/Business Admin.
O. Hitter--Emily Buehler, St. Thomas, SR, Mazeppa, Minn., 3.968, Justice & Peace Studies
M. Hitter--Kelly Cusack Elmhurst, SR, Bridgeview, Ill., 4.00, Accounting
Libero--Jessica Oolman, Minn. State, Mankato, SR, Marshall, Minn., 4.00, Biology
Setter--Kristin Smith, Bemidji State, JR, Rockford, Ill., 4.00, Biology
O. Hitter--Melissa Trvdik UW-River Falls, SR, Farwell, Minn., .795, Psychology

Second Team
Setter-Rachel Batalden, Gustavus, JR, Lamberton, Minn., 3.88, Math/Secondary Education
O.Hitter--Nicole Carlson, Elmhurst, SO, Forreston, Ill., 4.00, Business
O. Hitter--Laura Fleischman, Hamline, SR, Lester Prairie, Minn., 3.90, Math
M.Hitter--Britta Hofmann, Winona State, SR, Lodi, Wis., 4.00, Psychology/Marketing
O.Hitter--Heather Jonasson, Illinois College, Schaumburg, Ill., 4.00, Accounting/Economics
M.Blocker--Kristin Pins, St. Thomas, SR, Dubuque, Iowa, 3.92, English
Setter--Jessica Walden, Concordia-M'head, JR, Hawley, Minn., 4.00, Biology
O.Hitter--Mary Welk, Dominican, SR, Chicago, Ill., 3.77, Social Science

Third Team
M.Hitter--Katie Gilman, Lewis, SR, Springfield, Ill., 3.505, Marketing
O.Hitter--Brooke Wozniak-Schmidt, UW-Eau Claire, SR, Stanley, Wis., 3.76, Math Education
O.Hitter--Jenny Wingstrom, DePauw, SR, Wolcottville, Ind., 3.76, Biology/Computer Science
O.Hitter--Callie Zwettler, Minnesota-Duluth, JR, Madison, Wis., 3.40, Early Childhood Education