Salber tabbed A-R-C Scholar-Athlete of the Year

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference announced today that former Simpson College volleyball player Marissa Salber has been voted the 2022-23 Johanna Olson A-R-C Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

The award, in its 23rd year, goes to an alumnus from the previous academic year and is the highest individual honor from the conference. Salber joins former Storm men's basketball player Jesse Harris as a recipient from Simpson.

"Marissa Salber is the quintessential Division III student-athlete, and a model of the best the A-R-C has to offer," said A-R-C Commissioner Marie Stroman. "Her commitment to athletics, academics and the community shows the power of the full spectrum of the undergraduate college experience. She is very much deserving of this highest honor the American Rivers Conference bestows on student-athletes."

A four-year member and three-year captain of the Storm volleyball team, Salber graduated summa cum laude in December 2022 with a degree in management. She garnered academic all-conference honors three times, was a 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, and earned the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska College of Law.

On the court, Salber earned first team all-conference recognition in 2022 after landing on the honorable mention squad as a junior. She compiled 1647 assists, 514 digs, 174 kills, 65 aces and 56 blocks from her setter position and played a crucial role in the Storm reaching the A-R-C Tournament twice after a seven-year postseason drought.

"'That's always what happens - we always lose.' That's what one of the seniors said to me after we lost our first conference game in a close match my freshman year," Salber said. "I guess she was right because we finished 0-8 in the conference. In high school, I was the backup setter on a two-time state championship team in Nebraska's largest class. I knew Simpson wasn't the winningest program when I committed…. Now, how was I supposed to know how to turn a college program around when I didn't even play on my high school team? Like my grandma, I had a unique opportunity to help make the situation for those around me better - but unlike my grandma, I also found a team who supported me and built me up in turn. My role as the team's setter was to better the ball for my hitters, and my role as a leader was to better the program for my teammates' future success. With the addition of a high-energy new coach, we found more team success in wins and enhanced team culture every season. Reflecting on my college career, I know I wore 26 with pride; I poured everything I had into the program and bettered the situation in my four seasons. I started not getting playing time on a losing team and finished as a two-time All-Conference setter and team MVP for a program that came together to qualify for back-to-back conference tournaments for the first time in 11 years."

Salber was actively involved in campus activities during her three and a half years at Simpson, holding leadership roles as Senior Class President and Head of Student Organizations and Activities Committee. Salber served as volleyball's SAAC representative, logged over 150 community service hours as a Wesley Service Scholar, and was an Interfaith Fellow, Culver Fellow and Pre-Law Society member.

"Marissa's accolades on the court speak for themselves," said Kedron Bardwell, Simpson department chair of political science and faculty athletics representative. "She has a relentless positivity and "show me, don't tell me" ethic. From earning First-Team All-Conference in the A-R-C last year to improving in assists and service aces each year, she had a TEAM focus and did all she could to help move the needle on the SC program. And the players in future years will all benefit from that groundwork she laid with her effort. Lastly, this year she was recognized by the NCAA with a prestigious graduate scholarship to attend law school at the University of Nebraska. This was an ideal bookend to her time as a model student-athlete. We at Simpson are incredibly proud of Marissa. I'm sure she will continue to grow in servant leadership as she enters the legal profession, and I was fortunate to work with her for these three and a half years."

"The unique thing about Marissa is even when you combine all [of her] attributes you have a person who's willing to take the time to share her knowledge, share her experiences, listen and make you laugh," said head volleyball coach KK Palea. "You can see the impact of that in the friends, teammates, students and faculty she works with. That makes everyone Marissa interacts with better people."

About the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards
The American Rivers Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards were first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. The nominee must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership. Both awards were named originally for former Wartburg College and Conference sports information director Duane Schroeder in May 2002. The women's award was renamed in 2013 for former Luther College student-athlete Johanna Olson - the inaugural winner of the women's award - who lost a courageous battle with cancer in January 2013.

About the Johanna Olson A-R-C Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award
The American Rivers Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is named in honor of the late Johanna Olson, a former cross country and track & field student-athlete at Luther College who was the inaugural recipient of the award. Olson battled brain cancer for over 15 years before her fight ended on January 3, 2013 at age 33. She was originally diagnosed with a brain tumor as a college freshman in 1997 but went on to win the 2000 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship three years to the day after her initial brain surgery. In addition to the national title in cross country, she won three Conference Individual Championships and three Conference Most Valuable Runner awards (1999, 2000, 2001). In track and field, she was the 2001 Conference Most Valuable Performer, earning All-America honors in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs. Olson was also a member of the 2021 distance medley relay team that captured the indoor national title. She was named the United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) regional and national Athlete of the Year in both cross country and track & field in 2000-01. In 1999, Olson was presented the Honda Awards Inspirational Athlete of the Year after returning from radiation treatments to compete at the national level.