#NJCUWVB Senior Captain Rachel McIntyre Voted First-Team Academic All-District

New Jersey City University women's volleyball senior setter and team captain Rachel McIntyre has been voted to the 2017 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 2 Division III Women's Volleyball First Team. She now advances to the national Academic All-America ballot.

McIntyre becomes the 23rd Academic All-District selection in NJCU history-all since 1999-00-the fourth NJCU women's volleyball player to receive the distinction, and the first in seven years. She is also the first to receive First-Team All-District accolades. Lizzelle Cintron (2005) and Alex Johanesen (2010) were past Second-Team All-District honorees when the program was not divided by collegiate division, and Nadia DaSilva Ducos was a Third-Team All-District choice in 2007.

2017 Academic All-District 2 Women's Volleyball Division III Team

A four-year, two-sport athlete in women's volleyball and women's bowling, McIntyre is also doubling up academically, with a dual major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. With a heavy athletic and academic workload, she has produced a stellar 3.90 grade point average in three years, including three perfect 4.00 GPAs in the Fall 2015, Spring 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters. McIntyre has accomplished this while attending NJCU on a full Presidential Academic scholarship.

A three-time Academic All-New Jersey Athletic Conference selection, she earned Second-Team Academic All-NJAC honors as a junior in 2016-17 after twice collecting Honorable Mention Academic All-NJAC status from 2014-16. She most likely will be honored again as a senior.

"It's such a great honor," said McIntyre. "Hard work really does pays off, whether it's been on or off the court. I never play to win awards. I play because I love the sport and this is just icing on a great four years."

McIntyre is a big part of the reason NJCU has received the AVCA Team Academic Achievement award in back-to-back years from the American Volleyball Coaches Association-the only school in the NJAC to achieve that.

A leader on and off the court, she is the rare student-athlete to be a four-year team representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and has served each year in its leadership structure as the four-year SAAC Secretary. She was a multiple-year contributor to the Gothic Times newspaper on campus as a sports editor and writer, and works in the athletic communications office during the spring semester as a men's volleyball statistician.

After graduating in May 2018, she will pursue a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology with a concentration in forensics. Her goal is to become a forensics psychologist.

On the court, the 5-foot-7 McIntyre has been a four-year starter while wearing uniform No. 1 and concluded her career third in school history with 2,413 assists, and eighth with 193 aces. She played in 378 sets over 113 matches in her career, while adding 604 digs (1.60 per set), 364.5 total points, 151 kills, and a .182 attack percentage. During her first three seasons, she was the team's primary setter in nearly every match before the Gothic Knights began implementing a two-setter offensive rotation midway through this season. McIntyre averaged 6.38 assists and 0.51 aces per set for her career. She was a two-time NJAC Rookie of the Week as a freshman in 2014.

McIntyre helped NJCU qualify for the 2016 ECAC Division III Tournament (Round of 16)-its first postseason appearance since 2007. In 2017, the 35th season of intercollegiate women's volleyball at NJCU, the Knights finished with a 13-14 ledger-one win shy of postseason eligibility.

She joined the women's bowling team as a walk-on while a freshman in 2014-15 with little experience. McIntyre trained to add depth to the program and, as a senior, has worked into an importing starting role as the setup bowler in the team's Baker lineup. As a sophomore in 2015-16, she was named to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's All-Sportsmanship Team.

McIntyre is one of nine honorees in NCAA Division III District 2, including just three from the institutions in the state of New Jersey and two among NJAC players.

Fourth-year head coach Robert Cole said: "We're incredibly happy for Rachel to cap an excellent collegiate volleyball career with an award that recognizes the leader she is on the court and in the classroom. Four years ago, she took a chance on a first-year head coach and a program that needed to be built from the ground up. She knew the challenges we were going to face but she's had an unwavering commitment ever since. This program is better for having her in it."

To be eligible to be on the All-District ballot, student-athletes must be a starter and a significant contributor of at least sophomore academic status, with a minimum GPA of 3.30.

This is the seventh year that the Academic All-America program has been expanded to include a Division III-only team. Athletes eligible for All-District 2 honors include those from Division III institutions in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. All nominations and voting are conducted by membership of the CoSIDA. Capital One Academic All-America National Team first, second and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

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