Lake Honored as WCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Mary Lake of BYU women's volleyball was named a 2019-20 West Coast Conference Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday. Lake joins Anders Engebretsen of Saint Mary's men's soccer as this year's honorees. 

A four-year starter at libero for the Cougars from 2017-20, Lake was a three-time All-American, three-time All-WCC First Team honoree, and a three-time WCC Defender of the Year. In the summer of 2019, Lake joined the United States National Team, helping Team USA win the prestigious Volleyball Nations League and qualify for the Tokyo Summer Olympics. 

Last season, Lake became the Cougars' all-time leader in career digs, finishing with 1,898. The Palm Springs, California, native also finished third in sets played and seventh in aces in the rally era career program rankings as she helped BYU win three WCC titles and advance to the NCAA Tournament all four years of her career, including a No. 1 ranking and NCAA semifinal appearance in 2018.

On the academics side, Lake is concurrently earning both her bachelor's and master's degrees in the BYU Marriott School of Business's accounting program, annually ranked as one of the top two programs in the country. For her efforts she has been named CoSIDA Academic All-District twice and to the WCC All-Academic Team three times. 

Three of the last four women to win the award have come from the BYU women's volleyball program, including Roni Jones-Perry in 2019 and Amy Boswell in 2017. 

The Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete of the Year is selected by a vote of the WCC's Executive Council to recognize the finest accomplishments in athletics, academics and community service by individuals who have completed their collegiate eligibility. The award is named in honor of the conference's first full-time commissioner, Mike Gilleran.