Courtesy of Creighton Athletic Communications
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton Volleyball stars Kendra Wait and Norah Sis have been named Academic All-Americans, as chosen by College Sports Communicators. Wait was a First Team choice while Sis was selected to the Second Team.
Wait's recognition is significant for several noteworthy reasons. She becomes the first Creighton student-athlete in any sport to become a two-time First Team Academic All-American, and joins Paul Silas (1964), Brian Holt (2011) and Fabian Herbers (2015) as the only student-athletes in Creighton history to be named a First Team Academic All-American the same season they also were named a First Team All-America player.
Wait is also the volleyball program's first three-time Academic All-American. Creighton's only other three-time Academic All-Americans have been baseball infielder Dan Lawler (1999-2000-2001) and softball pitcher Tara Oltman (2008-2009-2010).
Creighton and Nebraska were the only schools with multiple Academic All-Americans this year, and the Bluejays are the only school with multiple Volleyball Academic All-Americas each of the past two seasons. This year marks just the third time that Creighton Volleyball has had multiple Academic All-Americans, joining 2018 (Jaali Winters, Taryn Kloth) and 2023 (Wait and Kiana Schmitt). Creighton is one of two schools with a Women's Volleyball Academic All-American in each of the past four seasons, joining Pittsburgh, but CU is the only school with a different honoree each season.
The 2024 Academic All-America® Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly known as CoSIDA), recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field or court and in the classroom.
Wait repeated as BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Setter of the Year in 2024 as the Gardner, Kan., product led the BIG EAST in assists per set (10.97) for the fourth straight season, good for 12th nationally. The four-time All-BIG EAST honoree's setting helped Creighton establish a program record for hitting percentage (.324), the second-best mark in the country. After earning Second Team Academic All-America accolades as a sophomore in 2022, Wait became the 14th student-athlete across all Bluejay sports to be named a First Team Academic All-American last year when she joined Abby Bottomley (2021) as CU Volleyball's only representatives to be named to the top team. Wait is a Nursing major who owns a 4.00 GPA. She now plays in the PVF for the Omaha Supernovas.
Sis ranked second in the BIG EAST in both kills per set (3.78) and points per set (4.50), as well as being third with 0.45 service aces per set. The Papillion, Neb., product finished her career second in CU history in career kills (1,664) and fifth in aces (113). Sis is the ninth different player in program history to be named an Academic All-American. The Nursing major owns a 3.78 GPA and is a member of the Orlando Valkyries in the PVF.
Coached by Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton finished the 2024 season with a 32-3 record and reached the program's second Elite Eight since 2016, in addition to earning a 11th straight BIG EAST regular-season title.
Creighton has now had 52 student-athletes earn a combined 65 Academic All-America awards across all sports. Today's recognition give Creighton Volleyball 12 Academic All-America awards in program history, surpassing softball (11) and men's soccer (11) for most by any Bluejay program.
Creighton Volleyball's College Sports Communicators All-Americans
FIRST TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
Abby Bottomley – 2021
Kendra Wait - 2023, 2024
SECOND TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
Megan Bober - 2012
Norah Sis - 2024
Kendra Wait - 2022
Jaali Winters - 2018
THIRD TEAM ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA
Emily Greisch - 2006
Taryn Kloth – 2018
Kiana Schmitt - 2023
Jaali Winters - 2017
Brittany Witt – 2019
For more information about CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.
FIRST TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Caroline Bien University of Kansas Gr. 4.00/4.00 Accounting
Anna DeBeer (1) University of Louisville Gr. 3.92/4.00 Business Administration (G)
Eva Hudson Purdue University Jr. 3.83 Biomedical Health Sciences
Kennedy Martin University of Florida So. 3.90 Business
Bergen Reilly University of Nebraska So. 3.81 Business & Law
Lexi Rodriguez (1) (6) University of Nebraska Sr. 3.65/4.00 Integrated Media Communication
Kendra Wait
(1) (5) Creighton University Sr. 4.00 Nursing
SECOND TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Merritt Beason University of Nebraska Sr. 3.57/4.00 Applied Science
Logan Case (4) Western Michigan University Sr. 4.00 French
Rachel Fairbanks (2) University of Pittsburgh Sr. 3.69 Business Finance
Kira Fallert University of Northern Iowa Sr. 4.00 Biology
Emily Londot Ohio State University Gr. 3.98/4.00 Kinesiology
Juila Orzol (3) Wisconsin Sr. 3.94 Business
Elia Rubin Stanford University Jr. 3.82 Science, Technology & Society
Norah Sis Creighton University Sr. 3.78 Nursing
THIRD TEAM
Name School Yr. GPA Major
Mekaila Aupiu Illinois State University Sr. 4.00 Environmental Systems Science & Sustainability
Payton Brgoch University of Mississippi Gr. 4.00 /4.00 Sport & Recreation Administration (G)
Caitlyn Callahan College of Charleston Gr. 4.00 Business Administration (G)
Syd Cole University of Northern Colorado Gr. 3.98 /4.00 Elementary Education
Tsvetelina Ilieva Binghamton University Gr. 3.99 Business Administration
Allison Jacobs University of Michigan Sr. 4.00 /4.00 Management (G)
Argentina Ung Arizona State University Gr. 3.67 Liberal Studies
CSC Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year: Anna DeBeer, University of Louisville
(1) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2023
(2) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2023
(3) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2023
(4) – 1st team Academic All-America® in 2022
(5) – 2nd team Academic All-America® in 2022
(6) – 3rd team Academic All-America® in 2022