Frostburg State senior volleyball All-American Sarah Stephens was named as one of the 30 semifinalists for the 2011 NCAA Woman Of The Year award.

Stephens, the CAC Volleyball Player of the Year after leading the Bobcats to their first-ever conference championship and a member of FSU's tennis team, is the fourth CAC student-athlete in the last nine years, and fifth since the program began in 1996, to be selected among the Top 30 honorees by the NCAA.

From those 30 (composed of 10 honorees from each NCAA division), nine finalists will be named.  The 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year will be chosen from among the nine finalists by the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics and announced at the national award ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 16, in Indianapolis, Ind. 

Previous CAC student-athletes to be among the 30 semifinalists include Goucher's Michele Mohlman (1996, field hockey, basketball and lacrosse), Mary Washington's Melissa Block (2003, lacrosse), Goucher's Stephanie LaGue (2005, swiming) and Salisbury's Sue Ackermann (2008, lacrosse).

Stephens, the first Bobcat to win a Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in FSU’s first year as a member of the CAC, graduated in May with Business Administration degree. She achieved a 3.96 cumulative grade point average and was on the FSU Dean’s List eight consecutive semesters.

A 2010 Capital One Academic All-American, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America, Stephens was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society in 2009.

On the volleyball court, Stephens received an American Volleyball Coach’s Association (AVCA) All-American Honorable Mention and was named Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Stephens led her team and the CAC in kills during her senior campaign and she ranks third all-time in FSU history in kills with 1,653. She also ranks sixth in digs with 1,195. Stephens wrapped up her collegiate career by being named Frostburg State University’s Female Athlete of the Year for the 2010-11 season.

Among her numerous service and leadership contributions Stephens volunteered her time at the Frostburg Nursing Home, the Cumberland Zoo, and the Salvation Army. She also served as a student tutor, an Alumni Ambassador and a member on the Alcohol Task Force Committee.