ORLANDO – UCF volleyball star McKenna Melville and Knights women's tennis standout Marie Mattel received top academic honors within their sports from the American Athletic Conference as the league Wednesday announced the latest in its series of annual academic awards for 2021-22.
The conference named Melville the AAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Mattel the AAC Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The awards are chosen by the league's faculty athletics representatives (FARs). Both individuals receive $2,000 scholarships as sport scholar-athletes—and Melville receives an additional $2,000 as the league's top female scholar-athlete.
Melville won AAC Player of the Year honors for the second season in a row in 2021 and garnered first-team all-AAC recognition for the fourth year in a row. She was also awarded the highest honor and most prestigious award a UCF student can receive, the Order of Pegasus. She also made the Dean's List during the 2022 spring semester. A 6-1 outside hitter from Eagan, Minnesota, Melville will compete as a graduate student in a final season with the Knights in 2022.
Mattel was a unanimous selection to the all-AAC first team as a junior in 2022. The Le Plessis-Bouchard, France, native was named AAC Player of the Week three times during the 2022 campaign and finished 13-5 overall. Her work in the classroom landed her on the Dean's List for both the 2021 fall semester and the 2022 spring semester. She is a business management major.