CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois volleyball redshirt-sophomore Diana Brown earned Academic All-District First-Team honors for district five, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the organization announced on Thursday (June 10). The honor, which is selected by CoSIDA members, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.

Brown, who owns a 4.00 GPA majoring in molecular & cellular biology, now advances to the Academic All-America team ballot as a first-team selection. Due to the variety in matches played across conferences and across divisions in college athletics this year, the CoSIDA Academic All-America nominations volleyball was based on career statistics for the 2020-21 academic year.  

The Columbus, Ohio native started all 18 matches for the Illini in the conference-only 2020-21 season, handing out 542 assists for a 7.63 assists per set mark, while also ranking second on the team with 190 digs. She led all Illini players with 10 double-doubles, while adding 29 blocks, 17 kills and 11 service aces. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten, Brown also collected Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2019.

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