SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Gannon University's Sam Deinek earned the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Women's Volleyball Champion Scholar Award, the league office announced on Friday prior to the start of the semifinals of the 2023 PSAC Women's Volleyball Championship at Shippensburg University.

Deinek, a junior from South Lyon, Mich. (South Lyon East High School), has maintained a 3.987 grade point average through 70 credits in pursuit of a degree in  early childhood education.
 
The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards are modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 award and honor the student-athlete with the top grade point average who is competing at the site of each of the PSAC's finals sites. The selection criteria for the Champion Scholar Awards is identical to that of the NCAA Elite 90 awards, which honor the student-athlete with the top GPA at each of the championship finals sites of the 90 NCAA championships across all three divisions – I, II, and III.