ORLANDO, Fla. – McKenna Melville was honored by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA) on Wednesday with a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team after an outstanding combined performance on the court and in the classroom this season.
Melville, who is a finance major, becomes the first Knight in program history and only the eighth student-athlete in UCF history to earn a first team recognition.
She is only the fourth UCF student-athlete to earn multiple of Academic All-American accolades as she was named to the second team last season and the 24th student-athlete at UCF who has received a CoSIDA Academic All-America honor.
This marks UCF volleyball's third total honor and its only first-team honor.
The Eagan, Minnesota native is also the first Knight in program history to earn a spot on one of the top three AVCA All-America teams and CoSIDA Academic All-America teams.
To be eligible for the accolade, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA.
"We've only had three Academic All-Americans, it's such a tough award to get," head coach Todd Dagenais said, "To be an Academic All-American combined with a top-three team All-American is a really special honor for McKenna to receive and a special position for a program to be in.
"It's nearly impossible to gain a spot because there are so few available and the combination of the academics and athletics is so elite. It is only a select group of student-athletes and she is apart of that. The blueprint that she is drawing is the prototypical student-athlete that we want to have now and in the future of UCF."
A fourth-year Knight, Melville was named to the CoSIDA District Four NCAA Division I First Team for the second time in November. After an outstanding season on the court, she racked up the accolades - earning American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, All-Conference First Team, AAC Player of the Week seven times, CoSIDA Academic All-Region First Team, AVCA All-Region and AVCA All-American Third Team.
Playing in and starting all 125 sets for the Knights, Melville led UCF to its fourth-straight conference title and NCAA appearance. The Eagan, Minnesota native dominated offensively while leading the nation with 701 points (5.61 points per set) and 617 kills (4.94 per set). She also added 34 aces this season.
Melville is the active career leader in kills per set (4.64), attacks per set (12.35), is fifth in total attacks (5,298), and sixth in kills (1,990).
A true six-rotation player, Melville has shined defensively as well as she led the team in digs with 383 (3.06 per set). The outside hitter also led the Knights in block solos with 16 on the season while she had 84 total blocks.
Melville is an all-around threat, picking up 19 double doubles this season and 71 over her career.
In every season that Melville has played at UCF, the Knights have won the American Athletic Conference title and received a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
UCF VOLLEYBALL ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
| McKenna Melville | First Team | 2021 |
| McKenna Melville | Second Team | 2020-21 |
| Jenny Heppert | Second Team | 2008 |
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Continue to follow UCF Volleyball on social media on Facebook (/UCF.Volleyball), Twitter (UCF_Volleyball) and Instagram (UCF.Volleyball) for the latest on the UCF volleyball season.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Download the app here.