Matthews Earns Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Nov 29 | Women's Volleyball
ROSEMONT, ILL. – Fifth-year middle blocker Mikaela Matthews of the Rutgers women's volleyball team has earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, the league announced Tuesday.
The athletes chosen for the Big Ten Conference Sportsmanship Award have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior, in addition to demonstrating good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
"Mikaela is the epitome of the sportsmanship award. She is one of the kindest and most hardworking players that I have ever been around," said head coach CJ Werneke. "She is a great teammate and always gave all she has for her teammates and program. She is very deserving of this recognition and award."
The two-time team captain has continued to lead the Scarlet Knights through three athletic conferences in her five years "On the Banks," most recently transitioning into the Big Ten. This season, Matthews paced the team with 101 total blocks along with 133 kills. The middle blocker finished her career with 370 total blocks to rank fourth in RU's all-time career record book.
Off the court, the San Diego, California, native was an avid participant in Rutgers volleyball's outreach within the community. Matthews most enjoyed creating hand written cards to the members of the Ronald McDonald house, which is a "home away from home" for families of seriously ill children.
Matthews completed her bachelor's degree in public health and is currently attending Rutgers School of Public Health Education and Behavioral Sciences for her master's. A BIG EAST All-Academic Team member and two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award following the 2015-16 academic year, which is bestowed upon student-athletes who achieved a 3.7 GPA or higher for the previous academic year.
The full list of honorees can be found here.
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