Eastern Michigan Athletics
Volleyball's Haut Named Finalist for 2019 Senior Class Award
10/3/2019 12:44:00 PM | Volleyball
The Monroe, Mich. native is one of 30 honorees across NCAA volleyball
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (EMUEagles.com) – Thirty women's volleyball student-athletes from member schools of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), who excel both on and off the court, were selected as candidates for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award, the award office announced, Oct. 2. Included in the list of candidates is Eastern Michigan University volleyball student-athlete Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central).
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Haut, a redshirt senior, has excelled in all four areas during her time at EMU. In the classroom, Haut holds a 3.25 grade point average in the challenging major of Exercise science. She has earned Academic All-Mid-American Conference honors twice, and was named the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week after her outstanding performance at the 2018 MAC Tournament.
More impressive is her classroom performance when considering the personal adversity Haut has overcome as a collegiate volleyball player. Just weeks after tearing her ACL and realizing she would miss an entire season of play, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The two were hospitalized at the same time, one fighting to get back on the court, the other fighting for her life. A mother-daughter success story to be admired, both defeated their respective challenge. Haut is now one of the best players in the MAC, and her mother is fully-healthy.
Despite every reason to focus on herself, Haut has also remained an active member of the community. She and her teammates have hosted numerous free clinics for children in the Ypsilanti community, as well as overseas, during the team's foreign tour to Costa Rica, in 2018. Haut has also been active in the annual Night to Shine event, hosted locally in Ann Arbor by 242 Community Church.
On the court, Haut has continually proven to be one of the league's best. As a redshirt junior, she earned First Team All-MAC honors for her regular season play, and was named the 2018 MAC Tournament's Most Valuable Player. A season after leading the conference in attack percentage (.376 in 2018), Haut is off to a great start in 2019, as she surpassed the 1,000-career kill mark against McNeese State, Sept. 7.
An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
Haut and the Eagles are back on the court today, Oct. 3, where they will begin a four-game homestand against MAC-West foe Central Michigan. The game is set for 7 p.m. and will include a banner-raising ceremony to honor the 2018 MAC Tournament Champion Eagles. Admission to the game is free. Fans can also stream the game using ESPN+.
