May 26, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Nine members of Stanford's NCAA champion men's volleyball team have been named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Academic team, including all four of its All-Americans.
No other team in the 12-member MPSF can match Stanford's number (BYU was next with seven). In fact, 18 of Stanford's 19 players had cumulative grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher, and the only other was 2.94.
Garrett Werner, the winner of the NCAA's Elite 88 Award for having the highest cumulative GPA among in-uniform members of the NCAA's final four volleyball teams, actually had only the third-highest GPA on the team. Werner's 3.904 was exceeded by sophomore Jake Vandermeer (4.170) and junior Ian Connolly (3.909).
Werner headlines Stanford's MPSF All-Academic contingent alongside fellow seniors Kawika Shoji and Evan Romero, each of whom earned their third conference All-Academic honor. With sophomore Erik Shoji also recognized, all four of Stanford's AVCA All-Americans have doubled as MPSF All-Academic honorees.
In addition, juniors Jordan Inafuku and Spencer McLachlin have made their second MPSF All-Academic team and senior Jason Palacios, as well as sophomores Brad Lawson and Gus Ellis receive their first All-Academic honors.
Players must be at least a sophomore academically, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, and play in at 50 percent of the team's competition.
The nine players is also the most Stanford has produced in one season, after having a high of seven in 2004 and 2009.
The following is a list of Stanford's 2010 MPSF All-Academic honorees:
Gus Ellis, soph., 3.38, MB (Corona del Mar, Calif./Corona del Mar HS)
Jordan Inafuku, jr. 3.45, Libero (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha School)
Brad Lawson , soph., 3.62, OH, (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School)
Spencer McLachlin, jr., 3.04, OH (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou HS)
Jason Palacios, sr., 3.28, OH (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS)
Erik Shoji, soph., 3.03, Libero (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School)
Kawika Shoji, sr., 3.64, Setter (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School)
Evan Romero, sr., 3.31, Opposite (Miami Lakes, Fla./Pace HS)
Garrett Werner, sr., 3.90, MB (River Hills, Wis./Nicolet HS)