FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-74-06-07
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Elizabethtown College Junior Kelly Downs Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American in Volleyball

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College junior middle hitter Kelly Downs (Airville, PA/Red Lion) has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America College Division Second Team in volleyball, as selected by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). She is the first Elizabethtown College volleyball player ever to become an Academic All-American.

The College Division in the ESPN The Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-America program consists of all NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA colleges and universities across the United States and Canada.

Downs led Elizabethtown in kills this season with 349 and in blocks with 137. She had a .320 hitting percentage, 35 service aces, and 64 digs in 33 matches in 2006. Downs was named to the All-Commonwealth Conference First Team for the first time in her career this season. She was also named the conference’s Player of the Week one time and made the all-tournament teams in the Gettysburg College Battlefield Classic, the Elizabethtown College Blue Jay Classic, and the Eastern University Extravaganza over the course of 2006. In 2004 and 2005, she was named to the All-Commonwealth Conference Second Team. She was also named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 College Division First Team in 2006.

In just three seasons, Downs already ranks fourth all-time at Elizabethtown in career kills with 1,021 and seventh in career blocks with 404. She has a career hitting percentage of .320, along with 100 career service aces and 149 career digs.

Downs is majoring in occupational therapy at Elizabethtown College with a minor in human services.

The Elizabethtown College volleyball team finished the 2006 season with a 26-7 overall record. The Blue Jays were the runners-up of the Commonwealth Conference this year, and the team posted its best win total since 1995 and its best winning percentage since 1986.