Valeria León Named Senior CLASS Award Candidate
10/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2016
RELATED INFO
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Valeria León has been named one of 30 candidates nationwide for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete in 10 NCAA sports and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Of the 30 candidates, 27 have grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher, including 14 who maintain above a 3.5. Fifteen are returning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Americans, and nine are members of teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates also have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
The 30 women’s volleyball candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C’s of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, hosted by Columbus, in December.
Classroom
Valeria León arrived in Columbus nearly four years ago speaking little to no English. Today, she not only has earned OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten recognition in all eligible seasons, but also was honored by the conference office as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar in Summer 2016. Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must produce a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher during the previous academic year. León, a strategic communications major and dean’s list member, has blown past the language barrier she encountered as a freshman and is on track to graduate in four years.
León is a member of the Wolstein Leadership Academy, a comprehensive program crafted to assist coach-nominated student-athletes on their personal leadership journeys. The select group of student-athletes is exposed to programming that helps define who they are as a leader on and off the court and develops essential leadership skills. Following her playing career, León plans to travel the world meeting new people and emerging herself in different cultures and lifestyles gaining important perspective into many of the countries’ low-income ares, sharing her love and helping in any was possible. She eventually hopes to take full advantage of her ability to speak Spanish and English fluently in the international business field.
Character
“Valeria León is one of the most incredible young ladies I have had the opportunity to coach. She came to Columbus at the age of 17 with very little grasp of the English language, ready to jump on a plane back to Puerto Rico on a daily basis. To hear León describe her journey from those initial weeks and months encapsulates why I coach. She has become a confident, vocal and resilient young lady. She is our team leader in every way, paying it forward daily to our young freshman from California, Florida and Brazil. The impact she has on those around her is uniquely contagious. When I think back to León’s early days filled with youthful tears, it makes me smile and, in all honesty, truly reminds me that we are on this planet to inspire those around us.”
–Geoff Carlston, Head Coach
Community
León jumps at nearly every community service opportunity presented to Ohio State student-athletes. She has spent extensive time collaborating with a local Special Olympics organization, volunteering at their events in each of the past four years. León also has enjoyed participating in Blanket Bash, an effort by the OSU community to provide handmade blankets for families of cancer patients being treated at OSU’s James Cancer Hospital. In addition to community service projects as a member of the Wolstein Leadership Academy, León also spent hours involved with Women in Sports Day, Are You Fit as a Buckeye, OSU LiFE Sports, Lil Spikers, Habitat for Humanity and directly working with children attending inner-city schools.
Competition
León is on pace to shatter Ohio State’s all-time record for career digs by season’s end. As of Oct. 13, she ranks second with 1537 digs and is quickly closing in on the top spot held by 2004 National Player of the Year Stacey Gordon (1,572 digs). León is tied for the school’s career leader in digs per set. Her 3.45 digs/set career average (as of Oct. 13) matches Chelsea Noble’s 3.45 digs/set. She already owns the school record for season digs average, producing an all-time best 4.31 digs/set clip during 2015.
León is a force in the serving game as well, both from the stripe and passing. She is closing in 100 service aces in her career (93 aces as of Oct. 13) and has served as a primary passer since midway through her freshman campaign. León has never missed a match in her career, playing in 120 consecutive contests as of Oct. 13. She has served as the starting libero for back-to-back runs to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals in 2014-15. The Ponce, P.R., native is a six-time all-tournament team selection during the non-conference season, including twice being named the event’s Most Valuable Player. Her efforts have corralled Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolades thrice. Following her junior season, León was the Ohio State Defensive Player of the Year recipient.
