Valpo junior libero Rylee Cookerly (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) was acclaimed for her athletic and academic prowess on Thursday, as she was named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District V honoree. By virtue of her First Team selection, Cookerly is now eligible for Academic All-American selection.

Cookerly has anchored the Valpo back row for a third straight season, as she ranks 22^nd nationally, averaging 5.21 digs/set. With 531 total digs this year, the junior is just 71 away from moving into Valpo’s single-season top-10 for the third time in her career.

This season’s numbers just add to a tremendous career already from the junior libero. Cookerly has tallied 1,956 digs to date, just two behind Allison Ketcham for fourth in program history and only 44 away from the 2,000-dig milestone entering this weekend. She ranks fourth among active Division I players in career digs/set (5.36) and is not only 15th among all active players in career digs, but leads all active juniors in the category.

In the classroom, Cookerly owns a 3.948 cumulative grade point average as a nursing major. This year marks her second consecutive Academic All-District honor, as she was a Second Team selection last year as a sophomore. Cookerly received the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and Valpo’s Outstanding Student Athlete award last year, as well as earning a place on the MVC Academic Honor Roll and Valpo Presidential Academic Honors.