Junior carries 3.91 GPA in mass communications

Northeast-10 Fall 2012 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award winners

RINDGE, N.H. (March 14, 2013) – Junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) of the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team has been selected as the recipient of a Northeast-10 Conference Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award, as announced Wednesday by the Conference office.

It is the sixth Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award earned by Franklin Pierce student-athletes, in just the award's fourth year. Previous Ravens honorees include: Tia Levins '12 (field hockey, fall 2012); Derek Ingui '11 (baseball, spring 2011); Tom Reilly '12 (men's soccer, fall 2010); Johannah Leedham '10 (women's basketball, winter 2009-10); and Angelika Johansson (women's soccer, fall 2009).

The Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence awards are chosen by a committee of athletic administrators and Faculty Athletic Representatives. The Northeast-10 honors one student-athlete per conference-sponsored sport each year, based on a combination of academic and athletic criteria.

To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award, a student-athlete must have completed at least two consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment at their current institution and at least two years of athletic eligibility at any institution. In addition, the student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.30.

Ray, who is carrying a 3.91 grade-point average as a mass communications major, became the volleyball program's first-ever All-Northeast-10 First Team selection while leading the 2012 squad to the program's first NCAA Championship berth. She finished the season ranked 52nd in the nation in aces per set (0.45), a figure which was also good for third in the Northeast-10, while her raw number of 58 aces led the Conference. Ray also finished 16th in the Northeast-10 in digs per set (3.30), 17th in points per set (3.26) and 20th in kills per set (2.51). She produced 12 double-doubles on the season and recorded 10-or-more kills on two other occasions.

It is not the first academic award for Ray, who was named to the Northeast-10 Academic All-Conference Team, in her first year of eligibility for that accolade, as well for her work in the classroom this fall. In addition, she is a three-time selection -- in as many semesters -- to the Northeast-10 Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Franklin Pierce finished the 2012 season 19-15 (12-3 Northeast-10), to finish third in the Northeast-10 and set a program record for Conference victories along the way. The team hosted a postseason match for the first time in program history, and was ultimately rewarded with the program's first trip to the NCAA Championship, as the fifth seed in the East Regional.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).