WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. --- Tusculum College's Ashley Sarmiento and Caitlyn Dean have been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-District 3 NCAA Division II Volleyball First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Sarmiento returns to the Academic All-District team for a second straight year, while Dean makes her first appearance.

Sarmiento and Dean advance to the Capital One Academic All-America® ballot, which will be announced next month.

Sarmiento, a junior setter from Dayton, Ohio, has a 3.91 cumulative grade point average while majoring in mathematics and math education (K-12). On the volleyball court, she leads the South Atlantic Conference in assists, averaging 9.76 per set, which 63rd in NCAA Division II. She is also averaging 3.39 digs and 0.40 blocks per set, while posting a .223 hitting percentage.

Sarmiento was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Second Team last year and is a preseason All-Conference pick this year. He 3,197 career assists are the second most in program history.

During her rookie campaign (2010), she was named the SAC Freshman of the Year and the AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, while also garnering All-Conference and All-Region accolades.

Sarmiento is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Tusculum Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. In 2010-11, she was the recipient of the Tusculum Freshman of the Year Academic Award and is a Tusculum academic scholarship recipient.

Sarmiento is also very active in the community where she is serving her second term as president of the Pioneer Student Athlete Advisory Council. Her community service activities include: "Tusculum Mentor for Kids", Ride for Life, Scholar Athlete Student Leader and volunteers with the Greeneville Humane Society.

Dean, a junior libero/defensive specialist from Fort Wayne, Ind., has a 3.37 GPA while majoring in nursing.

Dean has established herself as one of the greatest defensive players at her position in the country. She currently leads all three NCAA divisions in digs, averaging 7.81 per set, which is on pace to shatter the DII single-season record of 7.23 set by Kristen Hager of West Virginia State in 2008.

For her career, Dean has recorded 2,224 digs, which are a school record and third most in SAC history. Dean's 7.08 career digs per set average is the best in NCAA II history (since 2008 - 25-point, rally-scoring format).

She is a two-time All-America First Team selection (2010, 2011) and multi All-SAC and All-Region First Team choice. Last year, she was named the Tusculum Female Athlete of the Year and is a multi-SAC Specialist of the Week recipient.

During her freshman season, she was the NCAA Division II National Statistical Champion for digs per set, averaging 7.1 per frame, which is the second most in DII history.

Dean is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll.

The duo has led Tusculum to an 18-6 overall record and is second in the league with a 12-4 worksheet. The Pioneers have rattled off a five-match winning streak as TC has already clinched the program's seventh consecutive winning season and are two victories shy of Tusculum's fifth 20-win campaign in the last seven years. It would also mark the 21st time in the storied program's history that the Pioneers have won 20 matches.

Members of the Capital One Academic All-District 3 Team are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), which includes all colleges and universities in the South Atlantic Conference, Conference Carolinas and Peach Belt Conference.

- TC -

Capital One Academic All-District 3 Volleyball Team (NCAA II)
Meghan Cautero, Anderson
Caitlyn Dean, Tusculum
Ashley Farwell, USC Aiken
Shannon Gillespie, Anderson
Kristen Holmes, Armstrong Atlantic
Grace Krauser, Wingate
Samantha Lukralle, USC Aiken
Ashley Sarmiento, Tusculum
Ashley Seal, Armstrong Atlantic
Nicole Sparks, Mount Olive