Jessica Walden Named to the ESPN The Maganzine Academic All-America First Team. 
Senior Jessica Walden (Hawley, Minn.) capped her storied career at Concordia by being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team in the College Division as selected by CoSIDA. She was the only student/athlete from the MIAC to earn Academic All-America honors, and becomes only the fourth player in the history of the MIAC to earn Academic All-America First team honors. 

Walden is the first player in the history of the volleyball program to be named an Academic All-American. She joins football's Jordan Talge (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.) in becoming just the 10th and 11th honoree from Concordia to earn Academic All-American honors as voted on by CoSIDA. They are the first student/athletes to earn Academic All-America honors since Micah Benson was named to the Track and Field Academic All-America First Team in 2000. 

Walden was one of only six players to earn Academic All-America First Team honors and one of only 20 players that earned Academic All-America honors in the College Division. The College Division squad is selected from NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA. There are approximately 850 volleyball schools in D-II (259), D-III (402) and NAIA (189) -- so the 20 players selected on the College Division squad are the elite student-athletes from more than 11,500 players in these divisions. 

Walden was an integral part of the Cobber team that set a school record for fewest losses in a season and highest winning percentage in a season. Concordia won the MIAC tournament championship for the second straight season and advanced to the NCAA for the second straight year. 

Walden carries a 4.00 grade point average, while majoring in Biology and Psychology. She was a member of the Dean's List for three years and a four-year member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC). 

She was named the MIAC Most Valuable Player in 2004 and was named to the MIAC All-Conference Team for the third straight year. In addition, she earned All-American Honorable Mention honors for the first time in her career and was named to the All-Region First Team for the first time ever. 

She set the school record for assists in a career, assists in a season and assists in a match. She strung together three, 1000+ assists seasons and finished her career with 4,513 assists. In her career she was named the MIAC Setter of the Week a record-setting eight times. 
 

SECOND TEAM
Name,School,Dist.,Yr.,Hometown, GPA, Major 
Jean Anne Babin, OH Univ. of the South (TN) IV So. Huntsville, AL  4.00 Pol. Sci./Psychology
Elisabeth Bosma, OH Coast Guard Acad. (CT) I      Sr.        Sterling, VA  3.81 Op. Research &  Comp. Anal.
Heather Jonasson, MH Illinois College   V Sr. Schaumburg, IL 4.00 Econ./Bus. Adm.
Katya Khmelnitskaya, S New York Univ.  I Jr. Albany, NY  3.77 Psychology 
Kristian Kleminsky, OH Alabama-Huntsville  IV Sr. Madison, AL  4.00 Biological Science
Elizabeth Loveless, S Rochester (NY)  I Sr. Baldwinsville, NY 3.89 Chem. Eng.
 

THIRD TEAM
Name,School,Dist.,Yr.,Hometown, GPA, Major 
Angela Bagwell, OH Texas Lutheran  VI Sr. San Antonio, TX 3.92 Business
Lindsay Harksen, RS Linfield (OR)   VIII Jr. Sublimity, OR  4.00 Finance
Kecia Jennings, S Rockhurst (MO)  VII Sr. Leavenworth, KS 3.93 Biology
Lisa Kidwell, S  Lee (TN)   IV Sr. Milford, OH  3.95 Human Development
Lauren Petrick, OH Frostburg State (MD)  II Sr. Denton, MD  3.81 Bus. Admin.
Kristin Smith, S Bemidji State (MN)  V Sr. Caledonia, IL  4.00 Bus. Admin.
Lindsay Thiery, L Mount St. Joseph (OH)  IV Jr. Cincinnati, OH  4.00 Business
Emily Wolfing, OH Washington & Lee (VA) III Sr. Mount Airy, MD 3.76 Physics/Math. 

*First-team selection in 2003
Eight selected to third team due to tie in voting

2004 Academic All-America of the Year:  Carli Dale, Juniata