Nov. 8, 2007

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - For the third-straight year, Navy's Rachel Dougherty (Sr., Derwood, Md.) garnered Academic All-District 2 accolades for the sport of volleyball from the College Sports Information Directors of America for her performance in the classroom and on the court. Dougherty was named to the district's first team on Thursday, the second year in a row in which she has received first-team honors. She also garnered second-team accolades in 2005.

She, along with the additional first-team recipients from across the country, are now placed onto the organization's national ballot to select the Academic All-Americans for the sport.

Initial nominees for the all-district ballot must be of at least sophomore standing in the classroom, have attained a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or key reserve on their team. CoSIDA's District 2 consists of Division I colleges and universities located in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Academically, Dougherty has posted a 4.00 GPA during four of her six completed semesters at Navy and carries a cumulative 3.89 GPA as a physics major. She was selected as one of the Academy's 15 Bowman Scholars for the 2007-08 academic year, which allows her to further her education after commissioning at the Naval Postgraduate School and provides her with early admission into the Navy's nuclear surface warfare community.

As part of the requirements for the Bowman Scholars, Dougherty has to complete an independent study program at Navy. The subject title for her project is Isotopic Abundance Information from Proton Induced Gamma Ray Emission Measurements.

On the court, Dougherty has ranked among the NCAA leaders all season in service aces per game (0.53 sapg), as well as the among the leading attackers in the Patriot League with an average of 4.51 kills per game. Tuesday night she pounded down a career-high 30 kills in Navy's five-game victory over UMBC, one of seven matches this season in which she has surpassed 20 kills. A two-time Patriot League Player-of-the-Week selection this year, Dougherty also has totaled four double-doubles in matches this season and tallied a .262 hitting percentage.

She recently became just the fifth player in Navy's 17-year Division I era to record 1,000 career kills (currently with 1,093) and ranks fifth in Navy history with 269 career blocks.

Navy, 19-11 on the season, stands in fourth place in the Patriot League with a 6-8 record in league matches. The Midshipmen will close their regular season this weekend with matches Friday at Lafayette and Saturday at Lehigh.

District 2 Winners
University Division
FIRST TEAM
Rachel Dougherty, Navy, Sr., Derwood, Md., 3.89, Physics
Kailee Goold, West Virginia, Sr., Avon Lake, Ohio, 3.92, history and political science
Colleen Walsh, Delaware, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio, 3.75, Economics & Finance
Beth Gillming, Maryland, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, 3.72, Elementary Education
Rubena Sukaj, American, Jr., Tirana, Albania, 3.61, Business Administration / Accounting
Christa Harmotto, Penn State, Jr., Aliquippa, Pa., 3.34, Elementary Education