KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Nebraska Kearney's Michaela Bartels has been named the first-ever MIAA volleyball championship "A Game" Scholar award winner.

The "A Game" Scholar Award, presented by Mammoth Sports Construction and established by the MIAA, acknowledges the overall excellence of the student-athlete by recognizing one individual who has contributed to his or her team's success, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.

Bartels is a redshirt-junior from Bennington, Neb. (Bennington H.S). Already admitted to medical school, Bartels owns a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a Biology Comprehensive major and has 113 credits completed. 

The Lopers' 6-0 middle blocker was a 2019 Second Team All-MIAA selection. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury at the end of the 2019 season and has battled injuries since. 

Bartels appeared in 13 sets this season and has averaged 1.92 points per set. She tailed 20 kills on 43 attacks for a .372 hitting percentage while also collecting nine total blocks on the season. In her career, she enters the MIAA Tournament with 132 sets played covering 45 matches (27 starts). 

The Beinnington High graduate will be honored with the MIAA "A Game" trophy, presented by Mammoth Sports Construction, prior to the quarterfinal matches of the 2022 MIAA Volleyball championship on Thursday, Nov. 10, in St. Joseph's Civic Area. No. 2 seeded UNK will face No. 8 seeded Missouri Western in the first match at 12:00 p.m.

About Mammoth Sports Construction
Mammoth Sports Construction is a full-service, turnkey sports company for schools and athletic complexes that can help design, budget, fundraise and build the projects of our partner's dreams. Mammoth offers complete design-build services and is respected nationally as an industry leader with projects completed at the highest levels of sports, including the NFL, Big 10 Conference, Northern Sun Conference, Big 12 Conference, MIAA Conference, Southeastern Conference, Heart of America Athletic Conference and many others nationwide.

Mammoth is a family owned and operated company with the corporate headquarters located in Meriden, Kansas, and an additional office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Lenexa, Kansas.