NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Three members of the Norwich University volleyball team received recognition for their athletic and academic prowess, as Lillie Ells (Centerville, Mass.), Katie Finn (Peru, N.Y.), and Ava Nihill (Marshfield, Mass.) were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, as announced by the CSC (formerly CoSIDA) on Tuesday afternoon.

Ells, a sophomore outside hitter, ranked second on the team this season in kills with 100, while pacing the volleyball squad with 241 digs.  She also racked up two solo blocks and 10 block assists.  She maintains a 3.89 cumulative GPA as a civil engineering major.

Tied for the team-high in aces with 32, Finn owned 81 kills, 158 digs, two solo blocks, and seven block assists in 27 games this past season.  Also a sophomore outside hitter, Finn majors in criminology and carries a 4.00 cumulative GPA.

Nihill closed her career after leading the team in assists with 335, while also racking up eight kills, eight aces, one solo block, and six block assists.  A setter, Nihill owns a 3.58 cumulative GPA while also pursuing a nursing degree.

In order to be eligible for CSC Academic All-District distinction, a volleyball player must be a sophomore athletically or higher, hold a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (GPA) or higher, and must have competed in 90 percent of the institution's sets or must have started in at least 66 percent of the sets.

The trio all become first-time recipients of CSC Academic All-District laurels, and become the 11th, 12th, and 13th honorees in program history to land on the CSC Academic All-District Team.  Norwich volleyball's history of CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-District awardees date back to 2011, when Ivana Batur '12 became the program's inaugural recipient.

The three join Abby Kanaga (Apopka, Fla.) in receiving postseason honors, after Kanaga was named to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) All-Sportsmanship Team in November.