ST. LOUIS – University of Missouri-St. Louis graduate student outside hitter Charlotte Richards has been named to the 2022 Academic All-America ® Division II Volleyball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).

She is the first player in program history to receive the honor twice in her career. Richards was a second team selection after the Spring 2021 season. She joins Danielle Waedekin as the only players in program history to be selected to the first team.

Richards received her undergraduate degree in supply chain management and is finishing her master's degree in supply chain data analytics. She had a 3.94 grade point average as an undergraduate and 4.0 in her master's program.

Among the NCAA Division II Academic All-America® team, eight student-athletes own 4.0 GPAs with two more posting 4.0 GPAs in their graduate studies. The seven members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.975. Richards is one of five Division II Academic All-America ® recipients to become two-time honorees.

She was the Great Lakes Valley Conference's Player of the Year for the third straight season in 2022, was a First Team selection on the D2CCA and AVCA All-America teams and was the AVCA's Midwest Region Player of the Year. Richards led the Tritons and the GLVC this season in kills with 492, points (561.5) and points per set with 4.80 and was second in the conference in aces per set at 0.42. She won three GLVC Player of the Week awards this season with two coming on the offensive side (Sept. 12 and Oct. 10) and one on the defensive side (Nov. 7).

UMSL posted a record of 25-7 this season, won the Midwest Regional championship, was an NCAA semifinalist and ranked No. 11 in the final AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.

To be eligible for Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve who carries a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average and is at least a sophomore. Nominees must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games and be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic and academic credentials.

2022 Academic All-America ® Volleyball Team Division II

FIRST TEAM

Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Rylee Hladky (1)	Metro State University	Sr.	3.92	Mechanical Engineering
Hayley Kreiger	Davenport University	Gr.	3.89/4.00	Business
Kelli McKinnon	Harding University	Sr.	4.00	Exercise Science
Maureen Reilly	Rockhurst University	Jr.	4.00	Biochemistry
Charlotte Richards (5)	University of Missouri - St. Louis	Gr.	3.94/4.00	Supply Chain Mgmt. (UG)/Supply Chain Data Analytics (G)
Eve Stephens (3)	University of Alaska-Anchorage	Sr.	3.91	Accounting
Sabrina VanDeList (3)	Colorado Mesa University	Jr.	4.00	Elementary Education

SECOND TEAM

Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Kennedy Brady	Concordia-St. Paul	Gr.	4.00	Education
Erika Bute	Augustana	Sr.	4.00	Sports Administration & Leadership
Jess Molen	Thomas Jefferson	Jr.	3.94	Biochemistry
Bella Ray	Lewis University	Jr.	3.99	Middle Level Education
Alyssa Rezac	Northwest Missouri State	Sr.	3.88	Business Management
Teagan Starkey	Concordia-St. Paul	So.	4.00	Mathematics
Taylor Vaneekeren (2)	University of West Florida	Sr.	3.96	Sport Management

 THIRD TEAM

Name	School	Yr.	GPA	Major
Taya Beller	Wayne State College	So.	3.71	Business Management & Management
Emily Edwards	Lynn University	Sr.	4.00	Sports Management
Maddy Guetter	Augustana University	Sr.	3.91	Marketing
Kenzie Hines	Rockhurst University	Jr.	4.00	Business Administration & Accounting
Peyton Kirchhoefer	Northwest Missouri State	Jr.	3.93	Mathematics Education
Kari Mercer	USC Aiken	Sr.	3.95	Business Administration
Rachel Walker	Wayne State College	Jr.	3.94	Elementary Education

Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Rylee Hladky, Metropolitan State University of Denver
(1) - 1st team Academic All-America® in 2021 
(2) - 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2021 
(3) - 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2021 
(5) - 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2020-21