WAYNESBURG, Pa. (December 17) – The Waynesburg University volleyball team had four student-athletes receive Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Communicators (CSC) on Wednesday.

Senior libero Jordan Stein (Manor, Pa. / Norwin), senior setter/defensive specialist Paige Cousley (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Chartiers Valley), junior setter Riley Ruffley (Bedford, Pa. / Bedford) and junior outside hitter Paige Mortimore (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Brentwood) were named Academic All-District. Stein, Ruffley and Mortimore repeated as CSC academic selections.

Stein started all 23 matches for the Jackets as a libero and finished eighth in the PAC at 5.53 digs per set. She eclipsed 20 digs 11 times during the 2024 season and had at least 25 digs in Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) wins over Bethany, Westminster and Grove City. A nursing major with a 3.57 cumulative grade-point average, Stein concluded her career fourth in the program history with 1,611 career digs. 

Cousley, a forensic and biomedical sciences major with a 3.63 GPA, contributed as a setter, at the service line and in the back row this season. She was second on the squad at 2.38 assists per set, third in aces (27) and fourth in digs (2.10 digs per set). Cousley had six matched with at least 10 assists and four with double-digit digs. Coulsey concluded her Waynesburg career 10th in team history with 767 assists.

Ruffley is an early childhood and special education major with a 3.99 GPA. She led Waynesburg with 4.98 assists per set and finished second on the roster in aces (29) and digs (2.35 digs per set). Ruflfey logged a career-high 41 digs in a five-set triumph over Westminster and had a 23-assist, 13-dig double-double in a Jacket win over Grove City.

Mortimore maintains a 3.91 GPA as a nursing major and one of Waynesburg's primary outside hitters. She ranked third on the roster with 1.88 kills per set and 219 service receptions. Mortimore had six outings with double-digit kills including a 15-kill performance with a .484 hitting percentage in a victory over Pitt-Greensburg. 

The CSC Academic All-District program recognizes student-athletes that excel on the court and in the classroom. To be eligible for academic all-district status, a student-athlete must compete in 90 percent of the institution's matches played or start in at least two-thirds of the team's games. An undergraduate student-athlete must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA.

In 2024 Waynesburg tied for eighth place in the PAC standings, matching the team's best PAC finish since 2009, and recorded the program's best conference winning percentage since 2008. The Jackets had a 5-3 record in the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse and knocked off defending PAC champion Bethany for the first time since 2008 and topped Grove City for the first time since 2009.