WESTON, Mass. - For the second consecutive year, graduate student Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) and senior Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Women's Volleyball Team, as the national organization announced the 2023-24 Academic All-District® Women's Volleyball Teams for NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and NAIA Tuesday, Dec. 12.
The College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® and Academic All-District® Teams program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom. To be considered for inclusion on the Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Women's Volleyball Team, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average, and must have participated in at least 90 percent of the team's sets or started in at least 66 percent of matches.
Dow earned All-GNAC recognition for the third consecutive year as she was voted Third Team All-GNAC after finishing the 2023 season with 227 kills, a .231 hitting percentage, 46 service aces, 70 digs, and 97 total blocks. She broke the Regis program records for career matches played and career sets played, ending her collegiate career with 450 sets played within 128 matches.
In addition, Dow finished second in program history with 844 career kills and a .265 career hitting percentage as well as third in career service aces with 183 and fifth in career total blocks with 303. She earned a season-high 13 kills at Worcester State Sept. 12 and finished with 12 kills, six digs, and seven total blocks against Montclair State Sept. 23.
Dow graduated in May 2023 with her bachelor's degree in marketing and communications and business management and received the Marshall M. Sloane School of Business and Communication Leadership Award. She is about to complete her first semester in pursuit of her master's degree in strategic sports communication.
Montigny appeared in 96 sets within 28 matches during the 2023 season, finishing with 140 kills, a .241 hitting percentage, 10 assists, 55 defensive digs, and 68 total blocks. She earned a season-high 12 kills against Wellesley Oct. 12, plus she hit .524 in the match and collected six total blocks.
Also in the past season, Montigny finished with a season-high nine total blocks against Framingham State Oct. 28 and earned 10 kills on a .563 hitting percentage at Colby-Sawyer Nov. 4. She received GNAC All-Tournament Team honors for the second time in her career thanks in part of a nine-kill performance in the semifinals against Saint Joseph's College Nov. 9.
For her collegiate career, Montigny moved into third place on the Regis all-time hitting percentage list with a .257 career hitting percentage as well as into eighth place for career total blocks with 215. She is on track to receive her bachelor's degree in early childhood education and psychology next spring.
Academic All-District® honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot, with first-, second-, and third-team Academic All-America® honorees to be announced in early January. For more information about the CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.