WACO, Texas - Baylor senior outside hitter Nicole Bardaji became the Bears' first volleyball player since 2010 to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Bardaji became the ninth player in school history to earn all-district honors for volleyball and was the Big 12's only representative on the first team.

Bardaji, a fourth-year player out of Katy, Texas, carries a 3.92 GPA in pre-physical therapy at Baylor and becomes the first volleyball player since Caitlyn Trice and Elizabeth Graham earned honors in 2010.

In addition, Bardaji is the first, first-team academic all-district selection since Sunny Nicholas was selected in 2001, and Bardaji is the third Bear overall to be selected to the first-team.

Bardaji is now eligible to become an Academic All-American for the Bears, and she would be the first since Kia Young earned third-team honors in 1999.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

On the floor, Bardaji ranks fifth on Baylor's team in kills with 118, and she has collected 38 blocks on the season. The Bears are 13-12 through Wednesday's match at Kansas.