Senior hitter Taylor Pippen has been selected to the final 30 candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS award.

To be eligible for the CLASS — Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School — award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and excel in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. 

Pippen broke the all-time SIU record for attack efficiency last season, with 41 percent. This season she was selected to the preseason All Missouri Valley Conference and is hitting 36 percent and with 64 kills in six matches.

She currently holds a 3.7 cumulative grade point average and studied abroad in France this summer. Pippen often volunteers at local elementary schools, reads to children, and helped with the Autism Campaign and Kids Night Out.

The top 10 candidates will be announced halfway through the regular season, and the winner will be announced at the NCAA Volleyball Championship Dec. 19.

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @EvanJones_DE