Haleigh Washington Wins Senior CLASS Award

Penn State women’s volleyball middle blocker Haleigh Washington took home the Senior CLASS Award on Wednesday ahead of the Nittany Lions’ Final Four appearance in Kansas City.

Washington is the second Penn State women’s volleyball player to win the award, which recognizes the sport’s most outstanding senior student-athlete in Division I, following in the footsteps of Ariel Scott (2013).

Washington, a Colorado Springs, Colo., native, and classmate Simone Lee were both named Senior CLASS Award All-Americans — the first time Russ Rose’s program has had two honorees in the same season. Penn State athletics now counts five winners of the award across sports.

“First of all, it is an honor to be recognized in this way, and I’m so glad that I can represent Penn State in such a positive light,” Washington said in a release. “I think Penn State has made me a complete person. It has cultivated more than just the academic side and the athletic side; it’s helped me grow as a human being.”

Washington and Lee also earned AVCA All-American selections for the second year in a row Wednesday. Their leadership has been instrumental in Penn State’s run to its 13th Final Four, where the Nittany Lions will face Nebraska Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Sprint Center.