Schank Honored with Conference USA Spirit of Service Award

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall volleyball sophomore Sarah Schank was honored with the Conference USA Spirit of Service Award, the league announced Thursday.

Each member school of Conference USA has a winner for three different periods during the year of fall, winter and spring sports. The fall sports include men's and women's cross country, football, men's and women's soccer and volleyball. The award honors the league's student-athletes with significant community service endeavors, excellent academic standing and notable athletic achievements.

"Sarah has been a vital part of this program both on the court and in the community," Herd head coach Ari Aganus said. "We have a high standard as a team to always give back to the community while following our path to graduate. Sarah's enthusiasm in school and her willingness to give back to the university and the city of Huntington meets that standard. She finds time to volunteer while also maintaining her high GPA. She truly represents what it means to be a Marshall student-athlete."

Schank participated in many activities off the court this season while having a career year in her sophomore campaign and holding a 3.61 grade point average as a finance major.

Just this season Schank has been a part of the Sweetheart Clinic, held every year at Marshall to encourage and teach girls different skills in different sports. She was at the Altizer Elementary Academic Motivation Talk to speak to students regarding the importance of good grades and getting into college. Schank made a return trip to Altizer Elementary during National Reading Month to read various books to students, and the Dr. Seuss Reading Day. She participated in the Woodlands Game Night at the Woodland Retirement Center.

Schank also helped in various Huntington clean-up activities such as My Huntington West End Community Clean-up, My Huntington Guyandotte Clean-up (area around the river) and Buddy's BBQ Clean-up (around campus and downtown Huntington).

In 2019, Schank was a force for the Herd in its eight-win turnaround from the previous season, appearing in all 28 matches, with career-highs nearly across the board. She finished second on the team with 235 kills, second with 23 service aces, third with 212 digs and added 18 total blocks. She had a career-day at FIU with 22 kills, a .364 hitting percentage and 19 digs. Schank tallied another great outing in a win at Charlotte with 16 kills and 21 digs. Her third and final double-double of the year came on senior day with 14 kills and 17 digs in the victory over UAB.

Schank is the fourth member of the Marshall volleyball team to be honored joining Elizabeth Fleming (2009), Sammie Bane (2014) and Ally Kiekover (2015).

2019 Fall Spirit of Service Award Recipients
Mary Manser, Charlotte Women's Soccer
James Morgan, FIU Football
Sean Barone, Florida Atlantic Men's Cross Country
Brianna Hood, Louisiana Tech Women's Cross Country
Sarah Schank, Marshall Volleyball
Taylor Hammill, Middle Tennessee Volleyball
Kyleb Howell, North Texas Football
Mufutau Taiwo, Old Dominion Football
Chris Barnes, Rice Football
Regen McGee, Southern Miss Women's Cross Country
Audria Wood, UAB Women's Soccer
Linda Cheruiyot, UTEP Women's Cross Country
Montse Castro, UTSA Volleyball
Ashley Leonard, WKU Women's Soccer

For all the latest information about Marshall volleyball, follow @HerdVolleyball on Twitter and Marshall University Volleyball on Facebook.

To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!

---HerdZone.com---

Marshall University Athletics

Schank Honored with Conference USA Spirit of Service Award

Players Mentioned

Sarah Schank

Related Videos