Cassie Wait named candidate for Senior CLASS Award

Link Wait’s Senior CLASS Award profile [seniorCLASSaward.com]
YouTube Wait’s video profile

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Kansas volleyball senior libero Cassie Wait is one of 30 NCAA volleyball student-athletes selected today as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award®. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

“Wait has been all that we’ve hoped for and a lot more,” Kansas head coach Ray Bechard said. “She is representative of who our university looks for in bright young people who are very goal-driven and who create a lot of great opportunities for themselves and others around them.”

With a business degree in-hand, Wait has started the progress of earning her juris doctorate degree from KU’s School of Law this fall, all while balancing her role as a starter and senior leader for the sixth-ranked Jayhawks. Wait earned her undergraduate business degree in just three years (May 2016) from The University of Kansas with a 3.9 GPA. She is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team honoree and member of the University of Kansas Honors Program.

USA Volleyball would agree, Wait is one of the top liberos in the country. She was one of three collegiate liberos selected to try out for the Pan American Cup roster during the summer of 2016 at the USA Volleyball training facility in Anaheim, Calif. During the 2015 season she cemented her reputation as an elite back-row defender after leading Kansas to a win over No. 1 USC in the NCAA Championship regional final, giving Kansas its first-ever appearance in the Final Four.

The Gardner, Kansas native is living up to her high expectations as a senior. Wait currently leads the Big 12 with over 5.03 digs per set and has steadily moved up the Kansas career digs record book, currently sitting at No. 2 with 1,699 digs.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in December.

2016 Senior CLASS Award candidates

Inky Ajanaku, Stanford
Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M
Abbey Bessler, Xavier
Jess Bird, Creighton
Amy Boswell, BYU
Katie Brand, Kansas State
Hayley Farrer, Idaho State
Claire Felix, UCLA
Tessa Fournier, Seton Hall
Janey Goodman, James Madison
Carly Kan, Missouri
Grace Kauth, Cleveland State
Hannah Klemm, Hofstra
Laini Leindecker, Albany
Valeria León, Ohio State
Dani Mostrom, Wichita State
Demi Muses, New Hampshire
Meghan Niemann, Marquette
Megan O’Sullivan, Fairfield
Kayla Ostrom, Lipscomb
Chloe Reinig, Michigan State
Kadie Rolfzen, Nebraska
Keelin Severtson, New Hampshire
Ashley Smith, TCU
Lauren Smith, Creighton
Hannah Tapp, Minnesota
Paige Tapp, Minnesota
Teegan Van Gunst, Georgia Tech
Cassie Wait, KANSAS
Taylor Whittingham, Southern California

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