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Local grad Tess Rountree shines in college volleyball 

Former Bearcat athlete racks up post season volleyball honors at Principia College

Principia College’s Tess Rountree, a 2011 graduate of Paso Robles High School, has made a significant impact on Principia Volleyball and has also made her way into the regional and national spotlight with top rankings in both the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the NCAA.

Tess Rountree, Principia College, volleyball, Paso High, Bearcats

Principia College’s Tess Rountree, a 2011 graduate of Paso Robles High School, has made a significant impact on Principia Volleyball and has also made her way into the regional and national spotlight with top rankings in both the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the NCAA.

“Tess has grown into an elite college athlete,” said Mary Ann Sprague, the Head Women’s Volleyball Coach and Associate Athletic Director at Principia.

Rountree finished up the volleyball season with some very notable rankings in NCAA DIII statistics. She finished No. 3 in the nation for kills per set with 4.73 and No.3 in the nation for points per set with 5.71. Rountree also showed up in the national rankings for digs per set, even though she is not a defensive specialist, which is pretty impressive. She ranked No. 26 in the nation with 5.46 digs per set. Principia as a team racked up the digs and stayed at No. 1 in the nation for digs per set with 23.05.

Anyone can have a great year, but Rountree’s impressive career stats show that she has been a consistent powerhouse over the three years she has played volleyball for Principia. She sits at the top of the list, No. 1 in the nation in kills per game with 4.29 (compiled over her three years and then compared to other active player’s career stats). She also has clearly become a “go-to” player for Principia, as she has also made it high on the list at No. 3 in the nation for career attempts per set with 11.53 over her three years.

“Through persistence, hard work and dedicated training, Tess continues to improve,” said Sprague. “She has gained a lot of respect in my book.”

Rountree also gained the respect of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) with five Player of the Week awards this season (four for Offensive Player of the Week and one for Defensive Player of the Week). She ended up at the top of the SLIAC rankings in four of the eight statistical categories, including kills per set with 4.78, total kills with 559, digs per set with 5.48, and total digs with 641. Rountree finished in the top 10 of three more of the statistical categories putting her in seven out of the eight total categories, was awarded SLIAC Volleyball Player of the Year and selected to the First Team All Conference.

Rountree was regionally ranked, selected to the honorable mention list for the Central Region, and is only the second player from Principia College’s history to be selected to the AVCA Division III All-Region Team.

Not only a great volleyball player, but a great teammate, an excellent student, and an amazing track athlete as well, Rountree will enter into indoor track season before rounding out her career during her senior year at Principia, starting in the fall of 2014.

Source: Principia College Athletics

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About the author: Reporter Meagan Friberg

Meagan Friberg is a reporter for the Paso Robles Daily News and A-Town Daily News.