PORTLAND, Ore. – A key contributor to Simon Fraser both on the court and in her studies, senior Bianca Te leads a group of six student-athletes selected to the 2020-21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball All-Academic Team, presented by Barnes & Noble College.
 
A Kinesiology major with a 3.91 GPA, Te appeared in 28 matches for SFU as a libero in 2019, leading the team and finishing fourth in the conference, averaging 4.79 digs per match. Te, from Burnaby, was selected to the GNAC All-Academic team for the third straight season.
 
Joing Te and earning All-Academic honours for the second time was senior setter Julia Tays of Winnipeg. Tays is majoring in Business in the Beedie School of Business, carrying a 3.31 GPA. On the court, Tays was a GNAC All-Conference First Team selection, starting all 28 matches for SFU in 2019 and recording 9.57 assists per set (4th in the GNAC), as well as a .286 hitting percentage.
 
Also named an academic all-star was junior Tyra Anderson from Surrey, an outside hitter with a 3.36 GPA in the Faculty of Science where she is pursuing a degree in Kinesiology. Three sophomores were named:  Libero Kalissa Beltran of Surrey, who has a 3.41 GPA in Health Sciences, middle blocker Kalyn Hartmann of Langley, a psychology major with a 3.60 GPA and middle blocker Miriam Jauhiainen of Tampere, Finland, who carries a 3.69 GPA in International Studies.
 
Simon Fraser finished 17-11 overall and 13-7 in the conference in 2019, its sixth straight winning season. The 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
 
To qualify for the GNAC All-Academic Teams, presented by Barnes & Noble College, nominees must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, have a minimum cumulative GPA or 3.20 or greater, be a letterwinner on their team and must be in their second year at the nominating institution.