By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Four Willamette University volleyball players have been chosen for the 2023 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Women's Volleyball Team, as voted by the College Sports Communicators (CSC). Players receiving Academic All-District honors were Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute), Riley Cedergreen (Jr., DS, Nampa, ID/Liberty Charter School), Alayna Hughes (Jr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS/Univ. of Providence), and Katey Cramer (So., OH, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS/Cuesta College). Sato was named Academic All-District for the second consecutive season.
A panel of CSC members will determine which Academic All-District honorees are eligible to be voted onto the NCAA Division III Academic All-America Women's Volleyball Team. The Academic All-America Team will be released on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Players nominated for the CSC All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. They played in 90% of their team's sets or started at least 66% of the matches. Each nominated student-athlete was at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing.
Willamette earned a 14-10 overall record during the 2023 season. The Bearcats qualified for the inaugural Northwest Conference Volleyball Tournament with a 9-7 record (4th place) in conference play and lost to eventual champion Pacific Lutheran University in the semifinals. Willamette registered a 5-0 record in matches decided in five sets. During the season WU averaged 11.14 kills, 10.21 assists, 15.69 digs, and 2.11 service aces per set.
NCAA Division III Academic All-District
Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB) led Willamette with 486 digs to set a personal career-high for digs in a season. She ranked second in the NWC with 5.72 digs per set. Her previous high was 479 digs in 2022. She was named Second Team All-NWC for the second year in a row after being named Honorable Mention All-NWC in 2021.
During her career, Sato played in 100 matches and 368 sets. She achieved 2,016 career digs (5.48 per set.). She also registered 107 career service aces and concluded her career with 335 assists. On Oct. 29, 2022, she registered a career-high 41 digs against Pacific Lutheran. It was the second-highest total by a Bearcat since 2006. Sato is majoring in Psychology. She has accumulated a 3.85 cumulative GPA.
Riley Cedergreen (Jr., DS) tied for second on Willamette's team with 0.33 service aces per set as she recorded 26 aces in 78 sets played. She asw action in 23 of 24 matches. She also registered 33 digs during the season.
In two years with the Bearcats, Cedergreen has seen action in 29 matches and 87 sets. She has helped Willamette claim a combined win-loss record of 25-21 since the start of the 22 season. She is majoring in Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics. Cedergreen owns a 3.68 cumulative GPA.
Alayna Hughes (Jr., DS) competed in 23 matches and 77 sets this fall. She provided the Bearcats with 107 digs (1.39 avg.) and 25 service aces (0.32 avg.). She contributed six service aces in a 3-1 win against Hamline University (Minn.) on Sept.2 and supplied three aces in a 3-0 victory over NWC rival Lewis & Clark College on Sept. 27.
Hughes played volleyball at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana, before transferring to Willamette in the spring of 2023. She has earned a 3.93 GPA at Willamette and is majoring in Biology with a minor in Spanish.
Katey Cramer (So., OH) ranked second for the Bearcats with 200 kills and 2.44 kills per set this season. She played in 23 matches and saw action in 82 sets. She also recorded 124 digs (1.51 avg.) and 22 total blocks. She pounded out 15 kills versus Lewis & Clark in a 3-2 win on Oct. 25.
Before arriving at Willamette this fall, Cramer played volleyball at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California. She entered the fall semester with a 3.85 cumulative GPA. She is majoring in Exercise and Health Science.
