Harrison Nominated For NCAA Woman of the Year Award

Fairmont State senior volleyball standout Mackenzie Harrison has been nominated for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Harrison, a right-side hitter from Twinsburg, Ohio, was selected as the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) National Player of the Year after leading the country with 710 kills this season -- 105 more kills than any player in the country this season. The senior averaged 5.87 kills and 4.03 digs per set on her way to earning Mountain East Conference and D2CAA Atlantic Region Player of the Year honors last fall.

A three-time first team All-MEC selection, she leaves Fairmont State as the school's all-time leader in career kills (1,968) and kills in a season (710). She earned All-America honors from the D2CCA and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

In the classroom, Harrison was a member of the Fairmont State Honor's Program and graduated with a 3.487 GPA in business administration. She was named the 2018 "Outstanding Senior" by the Fairmont State School of Business. She was a three-time selection to the MEC Commissioner's Honor Roll (2015-17) and was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection as a senior.

Additionally, Harrison was also actively involved on campus and in the community. She volunteered for the Marion County Humane Society and was the Athletic Representative for the Fairmont State Student Government. She also served as Director of Social Media for the "Love Your Melon" campaign at Fairmont State designed to give every child battling cancer a hat.

About the NCAA Woman of the Year Award
 
For 28 years, the Woman of the Year program has honored the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership of outstanding female college athletes.

Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three NCAA divisions. In 2018, more than 200,000 women are playing college sports, and the NCAA received a program record of 581 nominations for this prestigious award.

This year's 581 nominees competed in 20 different women's sports across all three NCAA divisions, including 251 from Division I, 131 from Division II and 199 from Division III. 

The next step in the selection process asks NCAA conference offices to select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees. Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.
 
From the Top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.

The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.

Mackenzie HarrisonVolleyballNCAAncaa women of the year