Senior Ariel Scott was selected as the recipient of the women’s volleyball Senior CLASS Award today. She is the only Penn State volleyball player in program history to earn this prestigious honor.

CLASS is defined on its website as “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.” Penn State’s favorite math scholar, John Urschel, is also nominated for this award.

Scott is one of the top offensive attackers for the Nittany Lions, leading the team in kills in 15 matches and posting double-digit kills in 18 different matches. She had one of the best games of her season against Stanford with 22 kills to help propel the Nittany Lions to the NCAA semifinals.

Scott has won her fair share of awards in her collegiate career and is a three-time AVCA All-American and the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year. She recently received her third consecutive All-Big Ten honor and was unanimously selected to the 14-person team.

Her commitment to her academics has also been acknowledged during her time at Penn State. She has earned both Academic All-Big Ten honors and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors. She also volunteers with the Special Olympics, working to teach participants basic volleyball skills.

“We are so proud to see Ariel earn this award that speaks to the way she has approached her time at Penn State,” said head coach Russ Rose. “Not only is she a leader on the court, but she’s a standout student-athlete in the classroom who is also actively involved in the community. The way she carries herself is representative of everything that embodies this award.”

The No.2 Nittany Lions face No. 3 Washington tonight in the semifinals at 9:30 on ESPN2.