For some college athletes, success is usually only acknowledged for athletic achievement on the playing field. For Erica Gerth, Panthers senior volleyball standout, her success on the court might be overshadowed by her success in the classroom.

Gerth was named Academic All-District for the second consecutive year. Gerth was also named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year. Her success playing volleyball is kept in perspective, though. She understands why is she in college, and education is first while she is still at Eastern.

With the amount of success she has had in both academics and athletics, Gerth appreciates how each accomplishment compliments each other.

“It’s a good thing to know that school is still important,” Gerth said of being named Academic All-District. “I always tried to hold volleyball separate from school.”

Gerth has a 4.0 GPA in health studies and will graduate a semester early in December. Other states in the district include Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The ability to balance school with volleyball is not easy for any student-athlete, but it is something Erica became used to over time.

When she was a freshman, Gerth recalled her first taste of what being a student-athlete would be like. The Panthers volleyball team went to Alaska early in the season for a week, and when she returned, she had a week’s worth of make-up work to do.

“It takes a lot of time management to do both things at one time,” Gerth said. “On weekends, volleyball was always number one, but during the week, it was important to concentrate on school.”

Erica admitted she has very little free time for anything else, so completing work is always important

Eastern head coach Brenda Winkeler said Erica has continued her excellence over the years she has been at Eastern.

“She sets the bar for the type of person that is on this team,” Winkeler said about Gerth’s value to the team.

Asked if Gerth brings a lot of her smarts from school onto the volleyball court, Winkeler said, “She’s an analytical thinker, and she learns quickly. If you tell her something technically, she really uses it for herself.”

Erica’s teammates hold her to the highest standard of any player on the team. She is a great example of what a student-athlete should be. Her teammates appreciate and look up to all that she has accomplished.

“She’s a great role model on and off the court,” said Jessica Ackerman, junior outside hitter.

Ackerman knows the difficulty of playing a sport and trying to keep up in school, saying that while it is difficult, you get used to it.

“(Erica) is very gifted, so it comes easy to her,” Ackerman said, “but she does put in a lot of time to do what she does.”