OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Megan Theiller of Fairfield University Volleyball has been selected as a candidate for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award, as announced today by the organization. Theiller is one of 30 volleyball student-athletes chosen from a nationwide pool of nominees.
 
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
 
"I've been a head coach for 22 years, and I've never met anyone who gives as much as Megan in every capacity as a student-athlete," said Head Coach Todd Kress. "She does everything right in the classroom and is enrolled in a very difficult and demanding program. She gives everything on every point, whether it's in a match or in practice. She also finds a way to contribute to the local and university communities. She's somebody who can never be replaced in our program, on or off the court."
 
A three-year captain of the Stags, Theiller was a First Team All-MAAC selection and ECAC First Team All-Star in 2016. She earned MAAC All-Championship honors in 2015 and 2016, including Championship MVP laurels in 2015, as the Stags won the MAAC Championship in both campaigns. Theiller began her career as the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2014 after tying a program record with five MAAC Rookie of the Week selections. For her career, she is one of seven players in program history to record over 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs and is one of just three Stags to have accomplished the milestone in only three seasons.
 
In the classroom, Theiller is a consistent Fairfield University Dean's List student, including three semesters with a 4.0 GPA as a biology major. She was named MAAC All-Academic in 2015 and 2016 and earned CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District honors in 2016.
 
Theiller is a Relay for Life team captain at Fairfield and has volunteered on campus for Girl Scout Day and the Special Olympics. In her local community, she has volunteered at a food pantry and a VA hospital.
 
Theiller is the lone Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference representative on the list. Her fellow candidates include student-athletes from perennial national volleyball powers Florida, Nebraska, Washington, Penn State, Stanford and Texas.