Downs is all-everything
Looking for the definition of a student-athlete?
Look no further than Red Lion graduate Kelly Downs, who earned a resume full of awards during her senior season on the volleyball court at Elizabethtown College.
Downs, who co-captained the Blue Jays to a 32-7 match record and the MAC Commonwealth Conference championship, while being named conference Player of the Year.
The 6-foot senior led the team in kills with 511, an average of 3.79 per game and blocks with 181. She also posted the second best number of service points with 53 and had 95 digs.
In addition to her Player of the Year honor, Downs’ on-court accolades include being an AVCA honorable mention All-American.
However, that is only half — maybe not even half the story — for Downs.
The occupational therapy major was named the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American of the Year and a Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation scholar-athlete.
Topping it all off is the NCAA post-graduate scholarship of $7,500 Downs earned towards her work in Elizabethtown’s masters degree program. Amazingly, she was one of just 58 in the nation that received this honor.
Even off campus she stands out, serving as treasurer of Best Buddies, a group that matches college students with community members who have intellectual disabilities.
Downs volunteered at the Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown and helped lead a Halloween dance for Special Olympians.
In April, Elizabethtown College awarded her the first-ever Points of Distinction Scholar honor for all of her many accomplishments.
She is downright amazing. With people like her, the future looks just fine to me.
