By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information 

Click here to view the complete CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—Not only does Tennessee Tech pride itself on building championship level teams, but it also strongly values the academic excellence that the Golden Eagle student-athletes display on a daily basis. One of Tech's very own was named to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team on Thursday. 

Kellie Williams, a junior outside on the Golden Eagle volleyball team was recognized as one of the nation's top student-athletes for her combined performance both athletically and academically. She is also one of only three OVC volleyball players to be honored with this prestigious accolade. 

In the classroom, Williams is a biology major who maintains a 3.94 GPA. Because of her outstanding academic success, Williams has been named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll on one occasion and the Tennessee Tech Athletic Director's Honor Roll four times. 

On the court, Williams was named to the 2016 Preseason All-OVC volleyball team. She has seen 45 sets over 17 matches this season, before being sidelined with a knee injury. Throughout her three-year career as a Golden Eagle, Williams has tallied 764 kills, 149 digs, and 100 blocks, while maintaining a .177 hitting percentage. She stood as Tech's second lead attacker both her freshman and sophomore seasons and was named to the 2014 OVC All-Newcomer Team her freshman year. 

With the selection of Williams to the Academic All-District team, she raises the number to 116 Golden Eagle student-athletes that have been honored with the award. 

Williams will now have her name placed into consideration for the Academic All-America honors. 

Photo by Jim Dillon