Kansas City, Mo. - Central Methodist Volleyball student-athlete, Annabelle Maassen, was announced as the Heart of America's nominee for the Leroy Walker Character Award.

She was announced as the conference's nominee at the Heart Summit on July 29th in Olathe, Kan. 

The award was created to honor Dr. LeRoy Walker, a former president of the NAIA and President emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee.

It recognizes a current student-athlete, junior academically, who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, campus and community leadership embracing the five core character values of the NAIA Champions of Character initiative, athletic achievement, and future ambition.

Maassen recently completed her fourth year as a varsity starter on Central's nationally-ranked volleyball program, serving as a team captain for the Eagles. In her senior season, Annabelle was named a First-Team All-Conference selection and earned AVCA-NAIA All-Midwest Region Honorable Mention honors.

Additionally, she led CMU to its sixth straight NAIA National Tournament appearance. 

She also earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors for the third time in her career and was recognized as a Heart Scholar-Athlete for the second time. 

"I am extremely proud that Annabelle has earned this nomination," said CMU Head Volleyball Coach Coleman Lee. "She is a great ambassador for our program and Central Methodist University as a whole. I couldn't be more proud of the person she is today both on and off the court."

Annabelle will move on as a candidate to be voted for the Leroy Walker Character Award at the National Level. The winner will be announced on September 15th. 

To learn more about the NAIA National Awards, please click here.

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