Recent Western Kentucky graduate Rachel Anderson has been named one of 14 recipients of the Jim Castañeda Postgraduate Scholarship, Conference USA announced Monday.

The former Lady Topper volleyball standout joins Rachel Engle and Sydney Engle as a recipient of the honor.

This is the 11th year that scholarships have been presented in honor of Dr. Jim Castañeda, who served Rice University for 46 years as an educator, coach and faculty athletics representative before he died in November 2008. The conference annually awards the $4,000 postgraduate scholarships to graduates who are selected by C-USA faculty athletics representatives and approved by the board of directors.

Anderson earned her undergraduate degree at WKU this past winter after registering a cumulative 3.37 GPA. With a sport management degree, Anderson completed her first semester of graduate school coursework this past spring.

A native of Sturgis, Mich., Anderson earned C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognition all four years in the classroom, Anderson was also a three-time All-American at WKU. She was a three-time all-conference first team selection in addition to earning the league’s tournament MVP award her sophomore and junior campaigns. This past fall, Anderson was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.

During her four-year career at WKU, Anderson played in every match as the team racked up a 113-21 record. Anderson, a middle blocker, racked up 1,457 kills, 3.05 kills per set, a .377 hitting clip, 347 block assists, 95 solo blocks, 442 total blocks, 0.93 blocks per set and 1760.5 total points.

Anderson helped the Lady Toppers to the C-USA regular-season and tournament championships each of her first three years at WKU.

Anderson is heavily involved in the community, both in Bowling Green and back home in Sturgis. Community involvement for Anderson includes a leadership role for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, SAAC representative, WKU Athletics Marketing Street Team and Youth for Christ. Anderson spent last summer interning with Youth for Christ in her hometown. She’s also been a speaker at numerous outings – taking advantage of her athletic and spiritual platforms to share her passions with others.