Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Briner Earns CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team Honors
11/6/2014 2:11:00 PM | Volleyball
She is the first academic all-district award winner since 2012
McLEAN, Va. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan University volleyball student-athlete Jill Briner (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park and River Forest (Northeastern)) has been recognized as a member of the Capital One Academic All-District First Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Nov. 6. Briner was one-of-seven Mid-American Conference student-athletes selected for the NCAA Division I District Five CoSIDA Academic All-District teams. She is the first CoSIDA Capitol One Academic All-District award winner since Rachel Iaquaniello earned the distinction during the 2012 campaign, and she is the first EMU volleyball student-athlete to record first team honors since Jill Wolosiansky did in 2008.
The geographical region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio makes up NCAA Division I District Five, from which 26 student-athletes comprise the two academic teams. The academic all-district teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the third year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian universities, and two-year schools.
Briner, an accounting major with a 4.0 grade point average, is in her senior year at Eastern Michigan. The Oak Park, Ill. earned her first postseason award since transferring to EMU from Northeastern University following her sophomore season. The Eagles' setter has been a permanent fixture in the EMU lineup since joining the squad prior to the 2013 campaign. Currently, Briner is averaging 9.06 assists per frame, but has become a dual-threat for the EMU offense, posting 1.89 kills per set, while hitting at a team-best .313 clip. As the Green and White's primary setter, Briner has shown her versatility on the defensive side of the net as well. The five-foot, ten-inch setter averages 2.31 digs per set, along with 0.36 blocks per game.
The Eagles are heading into their final two weekends of regular season play and will compete in two home contests this weekend. Eastern will play host to the University of Toledo Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. before welcoming Ball State University to the Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. Eastern's battle with the Cardinals will serve as Senior Night when the EMU Athletics Department will honor Briner for her sterling career, along with fellow seniors Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) and Natalie Folk (Saline, Mich.-Saline).
District Five Winners
NCAA Divsion I
First Team
Second Team
The geographical region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio makes up NCAA Division I District Five, from which 26 student-athletes comprise the two academic teams. The academic all-district teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. This is the third year of the expanded Academic All-America program as CoSIDA moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I) and has doubled the number of scholar-athletes honored. The expanded teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian universities, and two-year schools.
Briner, an accounting major with a 4.0 grade point average, is in her senior year at Eastern Michigan. The Oak Park, Ill. earned her first postseason award since transferring to EMU from Northeastern University following her sophomore season. The Eagles' setter has been a permanent fixture in the EMU lineup since joining the squad prior to the 2013 campaign. Currently, Briner is averaging 9.06 assists per frame, but has become a dual-threat for the EMU offense, posting 1.89 kills per set, while hitting at a team-best .313 clip. As the Green and White's primary setter, Briner has shown her versatility on the defensive side of the net as well. The five-foot, ten-inch setter averages 2.31 digs per set, along with 0.36 blocks per game.
The Eagles are heading into their final two weekends of regular season play and will compete in two home contests this weekend. Eastern will play host to the University of Toledo Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. before welcoming Ball State University to the Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. Eastern's battle with the Cardinals will serve as Senior Night when the EMU Athletics Department will honor Briner for her sterling career, along with fellow seniors Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) and Natalie Folk (Saline, Mich.-Saline).
District Five Winners
NCAA Divsion I
First Team
| Jill Briner | Eastern Michigan | Sr. | Oak Park, Ill. | 4.00 | Accounting |
| Meg Riley | Miami | Sr. | St. Louis, Mo. | 3.97 | Mechanical Engineering |
| Anna Dorn | Illinois | Sr. | Munster, Ind. | 3.96 | Kinesiology |
| Kelly Lamberti | Ohio | Sr. | Cary, Ill. | 3.72 | Integraded Mathematics |
| Mackenzie Roddy | Northern Illinois | Sr. | San Bernadino, Calif. | 3.94 | Business Management |
| Bree Spangler | Indiana State | So. | Coldwater, Mich. | 4.00 | Speech and Language Pathology |
Second Team
| Abby Gilleland | Ohio | Jr. | Bull Valley, Ill. | 3.75 | Pre-Sport Management |
| Liz McMahon | Illinois | Sr. | Liberty Twp., Ohio | 3.85 | Recreation, Sport and Tourism |
| Erica Fullenkamp | Bowling Green | Sr. | Minster, Ohio | 4.00 | Adolescent to Young Adult Ed. |
| Saige Gallop | DePaul | Jr. | San Diego, Calif. | 4.00 | Pre-Health |
| Amanda Baker | Oakland | Jr. | Neoga, Ill. | 3.96 | Health Sciences |
| Hayley Benson | Ball State | Jr. | Hilliard, Ohio | 3.90 | Marketing |
Players Mentioned
Our spark plug on and off the court⚡️🦅 Excited to honor Ella Grasson on senior night this Friday!
Thursday, November 06
It’s Bri’s turn!🙌
Wednesday, November 05
Kicking off EMU Volleyball Senior Week Honors with Abby!🥳
Wednesday, November 05
Celebrating Kendal for EMU Volleyball's 2nd 2025 Senior Honor!🥳
Wednesday, November 05