BOSTON – Dakhensey Marcellus of the Suffolk volleyball team made history as the first student-athlete in the program's history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for her athletic and academic prowess, the national organization announced Thursday afternoon.
The 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Volleyball Team recognized the top student-athletes for their combined performances in the athletic realm and in the classroom throughout their entire careers. All nominees must have a GPA of 3.30 or above and be a starter or important reserve.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot where CoSIDA members vote for Academic All-America teams within their division. Awarded by CoSIDA to the most accomplished student-athletes for academic and athletic achievements each year since 1952, this is the longest-running and most prestigious academic and athletic award for student-athletes to receive.
Marcellus, the first women's volleyball player to take home the honoree, became the 21st Suffolk student-athlete to earn the distinction and the third to do so this year joining women's basketball's Jenni-Rose DiCecco and men's soccer's Tucker Mee, who also were their program's inaugural recipients. Marcellus is one of two Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) players on the list, joining Endicott's Collen McAvoy. For a full list of 2020-21 Women's Volleyball CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees, click here.
Prior to Suffolk's defensive specialist from Brockton, Massachusetts, earning this academic acknowledgement, she made the Rams' record book as the second-ever player to reach the 1,000-dig milestone, achieving the feat at Rhode Island College Oct. 29, 2019. The blue-and-gold's libero is the fastest player to reach the 1K dig marker, doing so in just 80 matches. Overall, she assembled a 3.88 dig per set average and was 174 digs shy of the program's all-time record of 1,250, which is held by Colbey Kennedy '13. In three seasons, she took the hardwood in 277 sets in 84 matches. She was a crucial component to Suffolk's winningest volleyball team (20-12) as a junior in 2019. That same season the Rams advanced to the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament for the first time in program history.
In the classroom, the law undergraduate has assembled a near perfect grade point average of 3.96. The two-time Academic All-GNAC honoree picked up CCC Fall Academic All-Conference nod in 2020. Over her eight semesters in Beacon Hill she had an unblemished 4.0 GPA three times.