--- For a second straight season, Tusculum College's Ashley Sarmiento has been selected as the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year announced league officials Wednesday.

The SAC Scholar Athlete Award recognizes achievement on the court, in the classroom, community service and as a campus leader.

This marks the fourth time that a TC volleyball player has earned the SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award but the first repeat winner. Sierra Harlacher earned the 2001 honor, while Alexis Rowles was the 2007 recipient. The award, which is presented to one student-athlete in each of the conference's 18 championship sports, is selected by the league's faculty athletic representatives.

Sarmiento becomes only the third player in the 23-year history of the SAC Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year Award to earn this honor multiple times. Wingate University's Lindsay Hinson was the first repeat winner in 2002 and 2003, while Wingate's Rebecca Brezovec was the recipient in 2005 and 2006.

A mathematics and math education major at Tusculum, Sarmiento has a 3.93 cumulative grade point average. She has twice been selected to the Capital One Academic All-America Team, and is a multi-year member of the Tusculum Dean's List, Tusculum President's List, SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List and Alpha Chi Honor Society.

Sarmiento was the 2012-13 recipient of the SAC Presidents Award, the most prestigious honor the conference awards to its student-athletes.

On the court, Sarmiento is a two-time member of the All-SAC Team. She was named the 2010 SAC Freshman of the Year, the 2010 AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, and was selected to the Daktronics All-Southeast Region Team in 2010. The team captain averaged 4.01 assists and 1.90 digs per set for the Pioneers in 2013.

An active member of the Greeneville community, Sarmiento has served with groups that include Nettie Day of Service, Ride for Life, St. Charles Church, Phoenix Rising volleyball camp, Greeneville Humane Society and "The Point" Christian group. On campus, she has had roles as an elementary school mentor, a leader with service learning classes, and as a member of the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's leadership team - including a term as president in 2012-13.

"Ashley is a leader not only on the volleyball court, but also on campus and in the Tusculum College community," said Angelo Botta, assistant professor of physical education and sports studies at Tusculum. "She inhabits all the necessary qualities needed to represent Tusculum College, and is a young lady with a very promising future."

Sarmiento becomes the ninth Tusculum student-athlete to be a repeat winner of the SAC Scholar Athlete of the Year award for their respective sport. She joins three-time winners Julie Maples (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05), Jarrell NeSmith (Football: 2003, 2004, 2005) and Chase Carroll (Men's Golf: 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09); and two-time honorees Craig Pritchett (Football: 2002, 2003), Lesley Murray (Women's Tennis: 2002-03, 2003-04), Nicole Ferris (Women's Soccer: 2007, 2008), Simon Holzapfel (2009, 2010) and Taylor Rakes (Baseball: 2012, 2013).

Sarmiento, a two-time All-SAC and All-Region choice, ended her career in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional with 3,849 assists, the second most of all Tusculum setters. Her 8.67 career assists average is the third-best in the TC record book. She also finishes with 1,154 digs (8th in TC history), making her the only player in school history with 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs in a career.

Sarmiento also finishes with 444 career sets (8th in TC history), 124 matches played (T8th in TC history), 297 kills, 78 service aces, 94 blocks and 428.5 career points.

Tusculum College, located in Greeneville, Tenn., is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, USA and is a NCAA Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference. Tusculum, the oldest college in the State of Tennessee, sponsors 16 intercollegiate sports, including men's lacrosse that will be competing as a varsity this year, and women's lacrosse, which begins competition during the 2014-2015 academic year.

Tusculum, the 28th oldest college in the nation, is a liberal arts institution committed to providing a liberal arts education in a Judeo-Christian and civic arts environment, with pathways for career preparation, personal development and civic engagement. Approximately twenty-one hundred students are enrolled on the main campus in Greeneville and three off-site locations in East Tennessee. The academic programs for both traditional-aged students and working adults served through the Graduate and Professional Studies program are delivered using focused calendars whereby students enroll in one course at a time.