Burke Named SLIAC Candidate for NCAA Woman of the Year

Webster University volleyball middle hitter Kylie Burke (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) has been chosen as the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's representative in the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year selection process, the NCAA recently announced.
 
The NCAA Woman of the Year program, which was established in 1981, honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service, and leadership of graduating female college athletes from all three divisions. To be eligible, nominees must have competed and earned a varsity letter in an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have completed eligibility in their primary sport.
 
Burke was one of 535 female student-athletes nominated from across all three NCAA Divisions (I, II, III), including one of 177 student-athletes from Division III that was announced on July 15, 2021, by the NCAA.
 
With her selection by the SLIAC, Burke, who graduated in three years from Webster this past May with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, will now be in the pool of nominees that will be trimmed to the Top 30 – 10 from each division – and from there three finalists will be selected from each division. From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year, who will be named this coming fall.
 
Burke, who was a three-year member of the volleyball team, earned her Woman of the Year nominee after recording a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average and graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors. In her three years on the volleyball court, Burke was a Second-Team All-SLIAC selection during the 2020-21 spring season, a CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 selection in volleyball, and was named the 2020-21 Webster Athletics Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
"What a tremendous honor and accomplishment for Kylie and also what a great honor for Webster University and Webster University Volleyball," Webster head volleyball coach and assistant athletic director Merry Graf said. "Kylie is an impressive young woman. She completed her Bachelor of Biological Sciences degree in three years while competing as a starter on the volleyball team, was a SAAC representative all three years and an officer for two of those, and was involved in numerous organizations on campus and volunteered in several community service activities during this time. Her many contributions will leave a lasting mark on the volleyball program, the athletic department, and campus-wide."
 
During the 2020-21 season, Burke led the Gorloks in blocks with 47 and also recorded 68 kills, 17 aces, 48 digs, and hit .241. On the year, she had five matches with five or more blocks, including a career-high eight blocks in Webster's three-set home sweep over then 10th-ranked Westminster on April 7. In her career, she finished 13th on the school's all-time block assist chart (148) and recorded 167 career blocks to go along with her 243 career kills, 26 career access, and 113 career digs Along with earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, she was also named to the SLIAC All-Academic Team for the second time in her three seasons as a Gorlok. Additionally, she was a two-time SLIAC Defensive Player of the Week during the 2020-21 season and was also a co-captain for the Gorlok and served as the President of Webster's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) during the 2020-21 school year, and was a Presidential Scholarship Award winner.
 
In the classroom, Burke, who will be attending Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine this fall as she starts her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, was a six-time member of the Dean's List at Webster, a Capstone Award for Leadership in 2021, and a WebsterLEADS Leadership Certificate recipient. She was also the President of the Beta Beta Beta National Biological Sciences Honor Society and the Students for Biological Sciences President and a Student Ambassador at Webster. Burke also served as the President of Webster's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) during the 2020-21 school year and was the Vice President in 2019-20.

STORY COURTESY OF WEBSTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION