Nov. 8, 2012

LOS ANGELES - USC women's volleyball libero Natalie Hagglund was named to the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Capital One Academic All-District VIII first team on Thursday, Nov. 8. The All-American junior is one of just five Pac-12 players to be named to the team and is the first Trojan to earn Academic All-District honors since three-time All-American middle blocker Emily Adams was twice selected in 2003 and 2004. Adams went on to receive Academic All-America second-team honors in 2003 and first-team honors in 2004.

One of five Pac-12 players named to the all-district team, Hagglund is joined on the first team by Oregon seniors Katherine Fischer and Alaina Bergsma. Washington senior Amanda Gil and Utah sophomore Bailey Bateman were each named to the second team.

Hagglund holds a 3.44 cumulative grade point average and is majoring in communications at USC's famed Annenberg School. To date, she ranks second in the Pac-12 in digs with 4.90 dps and logged a career-best 34 digs in a five-set victory over Washington on Oct. 26. She has reached the 30-dig plateau seven times in her career.

Last year, Hagglund became USC's first-ever AVCA All-American libero and was named the Pac-12's Libero of the Year to go with AVCA All-Pacific Region honors. This season, she has twice been chosen as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. Away from USC, Hagglund was the starting libero for the U.S. Junior National Team and was named Best Libero at the 2011 FIVB Women's Junior World Championships.

As a first-team all-district selection, Hagglund is now eligible for Academic All-America honors, which will be voted on later this month by members of the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). In order to be eligible for the all-district ballot, nominees had to have a minimum 3.30 cumulative grade-point average, in their second year at an institution, and be a starter or important reserve who has participated in at least 50 percent of a team's contests.

For more information on Academic All-District and All-America honors, please visit www.CoSIDA.com.

The eighth-ranked Women of Troy (22-4, 10-4 Pac-12) will face Utah and Colorado in road matches, this weekend. USC has just six regular-season matches remaining on its schedule and is in line to make its 22nd consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament; 30th overall. Please visit www.USCTrojans.com for more information on this weekend's matches.