IRVING, Texas The 12^th-ranked Kansas State volleyball squad placed seven Wildcats on the 2007 Academic All-Big 12 First Team, as announced by the conference office Tuesday. K-State tied with Nebraska for the most honored on the 53 member first and second teams, marking the third-consecutive season the Wildcats have matched the most honorees.

Seniors Angie Lastra (life science/pre-med) and Stacey Spiegelberg (life science) and junior Jenny Jantsch (accounting) earn the academic first team recognition for the third time as a Wildcat. Megan Farr (general management), Lauren Rosenthal (architectural engineering) and Leslie Townsend (finance) are named first team for the second instance in their career, while Kelsey Chipman (life science/pre-med) has been honored for the first time.

Chipman, a sophomore out of Topeka, Kan., was one of six Big 12 student-athletes to be nominated with a 4.0 grade point average.

Kansas State has seen 35 student-athletes listed to the Big 12 Academic All-Big 12 volleyball team since the start of the conference in 1996, as the Wildcats have totaled 79 citations with 49 first team selections.

Nominated by each institution’s director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the volleyball academic all-league team consisted of 44 first team members combined with nine on the second team.  First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

K-State has three Big 12 regular season matches on tap, including the final two home contests this week starting with a Sunflower Showdown on Wed., Nov. 14^th, when the Wildcats host Kansas. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from Ahearn Field House. For complete coverage of Kansas State volleyball, please visit www.kstatesports.com.