Saint Francis University’s Korrin Burns Receives Second Straight NEC (Formerly Northeast Conference) Women’s Volleyball Scholar Athlete Of The Year

on 19 March, 2026 at 19:54

Photos Courtesy of SFU Athletics

Former Clarion Area Bobcat All-Stater Korrin Burns received another wonderful student-athlete award on Tuesday, March 17th, as she was named the 2025 NEC (formerly Northeast Conference) Women’s Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year (her second year in a row), as Scholar Athlete’s from each of the NEC’s fall sports were named.

SFU Head Coach Sara Spielvogel had fine words about Korrin.

“If there is an award to be won, seems that Korrin will likely be the recipient. I continue to be amazed at how special this past season was for our team and for Korrin.

“She is a once in a lifetime player and to have been able to be a part of that journey is truly an honor as a coach.

“This award goes to show how well-balanced Korrin is as a person, student and as an athlete.”

Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88).

Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, Fairleigh Dickinson, Le Moyne, Long Island, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis, Stonehill and Wagner.

Joining Korrin, a senior outside hitter for the Saint Francis University Red Flash, as Scholar Athletes are: Men’s Cross Country – Central Connecticut State University’s Mark Rodriguez, a grad student; Women’s Cross Country – Wagner College’s Rylee Ferretty, a junior; Women’s Field Hockey – Rider University’s Valeria Perales, a senior forward; Football – Mercyhurst University’s Blake Hoegler, a junior offensive lineman; Men’s Soccer – Long Island University’s Samuel Keogan, a senior midfielder; Women’s Soccer – Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Andrea Ougaard, a senior defender.

The NEC Press Release shares about the academic grind it is for the Player of the Year recipients.

Academic and athletic excellence took center stage across the NEC this past fall, as the league recognized an impressive group of student-athletes who paired elite performance in competition with success in the classroom.

The 2025 NEC Fall Scholar-Athlete award winner list included:

The NEC Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year, an Academic All-American and repeat NEC Scholar-Athlete honoree
The NEC men’s and women’s cross country individual champions
Five student-athletes with at least a 3.9 cumulative GPA
Two student-athletes who maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA

Student-athletes from CCSU, FDU, LIU, Mercyhurst, Rider, Saint Francis and Wagner were each represented among the award winners.

All scholar-athlete award winners must have completed two years of college, maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.

Academic excellence reached new heights across the NEC this past fall, as the conference recognized a record 1,287 student-athletes on its Fall Academic Honor Roll, including an all-time-high 514 selections to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.75 GPA or better).

The NEC shares this about Korrin,

Saint Francis U senior outside hitter Korrin Burns (Clarion, PA/Clarion Area) capped a historic collegiate career by being named the 2025 women’s volleyball scholar-athlete. Burns, the lone repeat scholar-athlete honoree from, collected NEC Player of the Year and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year honors, and earned an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention nod.

Burns also reached a pinnacle of academic and athletic excellence when she was named a third-team CSC Academic All-American at the conclusion of the season. She was named to the 2025 NEC All-Tournament Team and set a conference postseason record with 28 kills in the semifinals against FDU, leading SFU to the NEC final.

On the national stage, the eight time NEC Player of the Week ranked fourth nationally in kills per set (5.25), fifth in points per set (5.70), sixth in total kills (588), seventh in points (638.5) and 16th in attacks per set (11.92). The Clarion, PA product broke SFU program records for single-season kills (588) and career kills (1,453), and became the first player in program history to earn three All-NEC first-team selections. She helped guide SFU to a 44–14 record in NEC play over her four-year career, marking the best four-year stretch in program history.

In addition to her on-court dominance, Burns excelled academically, registering a 3.72 GPA in Health Science (PT). She appeared on the NEC Academic Honor Roll four times, earned two selections to the NEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was named to the CSC Academic All-District team three times.

Following is the press release from Saint Francis University Athletics also lists many of Korrin’s major athletic and educational highlights, as well as highlights of other SFU Athletes.

The NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award has been synonymous with Saint Francis University since its inception in 2003-04. Red Flash women’s volleyball senior Korrin Burns (Clarion, Pa./Clarion Area) helped continue the tradition of being the only NEC school to earn at least one honor every year, with her being named the NEC Women’s Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

Burns earned the distinction for the second-straight year, and it’s the fourth time the women’s volleyball program has received the honor after Anne Roosevelt (2006) and Elise Dumouchelle (2019) previously earned the honor.

Burns, who had a 3.72 cumulative grade-point average through the fall semester, was named to the NEC Academic Honor Roll (3.2 GPA or above) for the fourth-straight campaign and earned a spot on the NEC Commissioner’s Honor Roll (3.75 GPA or above) for three seasons to go along with her scholar athlete award in the league for the last two years.

The physical therapy major has also earned recognition for her academics on the national stage, earning a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American third-team distinction in the fall and becoming the first player in program history to earn CSC Academic All-District honors for three seasons.

Burns’ exploits on the court are just as impressive for this season alone: AVCA All-American honorable mention, NEC Player of the Year, AVCA All-Region honorable mention, ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, All-NEC first-team, All-ECAC first-team all-star, NEC All-Tournament team, and an eight-time NEC Player of the Week.

She is the first player in program history to earn the two ECAC distinctions, the second to earn the AVCA honors, and the fourth NEC Player of the Year. Burns is the first player in program history to earn three All-NEC first-team recognitions and was the first player to earn ECAC honors with her second-team nod last season.

This season, she shattered the single-season program record for kills by 102 kills and finished with 588 kills, and she finished her career with 1,453 kills to break the career record by 28 kills. She concluded her career with seven of the top eight single-game kill performances in program history, with six of those marks coming this season, including an NEC Tournament record 28 kills against FDU in the NEC Semifinals on November 21. She is also the only player in program history to have 30 kills in a game, a feat she accomplished twice, including 30 against Siena on September 5.

In NCAA Division I, Burns finished the season fourth in kills per set (5.25), fifth in points per set (5.70), sixth in kills, seventh in points, and 16th in attacks per set (11.92). Burns was also one of nine players who amassed over 550 kills in 2025. She did not rank among the top in the nation in aces, but did contribute to the team finishing third in the nation in aces per set (2.20).

In addition to holding the program record for career kills, Burns is second in career hitting percentage (.216), fifth in total attacks (3,582), and eighth in service aces (104). Burns was named NEC Player of the Week 12 times in her career, the third most in NEC history. Saint Francis enjoyed its best four-year stretch with Burns leading the charge to a 61-49 overall record and a 44-14 mark in NEC play, while advancing to the NEC Tournament all four years.

Since the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award was created in 2003-04, Saint Francis has had at least one player earn the honor every year for a total of 85 times. Burns marks the 17th time a Red Flash player has earned the recognition in consecutive seasons and the 20th time a student-athlete earned the honor twice (three times a student-athlete earned the honor twice, but not consecutively).

The university recently announced its 2026 Athletics Hall of Fame class and Burns joins four members of that class as student-athletes that have won back-to-back honors: Anna Hoffman Balouris (2009-10, women’s indoor track and field) Elise Lofgren (2013-14, women’s swimming), Tesa McKibben (2012-13, women’s soccer) and Alli Williams (2013-14, women’s basketball).

Saint Francis Hall of Famers Beth Swink (2004-05, women’s basketball) and Ryan Sheehan (2004-05, men’s outdoor track and field) also won back-to-back for their respective sports along with Ann Colligan (2012-13, women’s golf), Lance Geesey (2015-16, football), Francis de Fries (2015-16, men’s soccer), Brandon Mihalo (2017-18, men’s golf), Allison Duke (2016-17, women’s soccer), Bryce England (2016-17, cross country, 2017-18 indoor and outdoor track and field), Mackenzie Saban (2021-22, softball) and Rachel Marsden (2023-24, softball) have also earned the honor in back-to-back camaigns.

Sheehan also did it twice, but not in consecutive years for men’s cross country (2003, 2005), and Erica Jacobs also turned the trick for both women’s indoor and outdoor track and field (2005, 2007).

(Congratulations on another fine honor, Korrin!!!!)