Lady Jays back up strong season on VB court with academic excellence

The Minnesota West volleyball team has shared that six players on its roster for the 2025 season have earned NJCAA All-Academic Team honors for the 2025-26 year.

The Lady Jays, who placed fifth during last year's national tournament, had three student-athletes earn All-Academic First Team recognition. Freshmen Jacy Jacobson, Myah Dausel and Ellyana Sand all had grade-point averages of 4.0.

Kate Slettum, who competed in her sophomore season last year for Minnesota West, represents the Lady Jays on the All-Academic Second Team, as she had a GPA of between 3.80 and 3.99. Making the third team were sophomores Kylee Larson and Ally Nelson, who had grade-point averages between 3.60 and 3.79.

The Minnesota West volleyball squad also shined academically as a whole as it earned NJCAA Academic Team honors with a cumulative GPA of 3.5. The Lady Jays' women basketball and softball teams also earned this recognition; the basketball squad had a collective GPA of 3.57 and the softball squad had a 3.38.

The Lady Jays' volleyball team is scheduled to open its fall 2026 season on Aug. 18 at Iowa Lakes Community College.