ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State Altoona sophomores Tanner Yaw (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra) and Lauren Diller (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) have each garnered a pair of awards for their performances in the realm of athletics and their prowess in the classroom since the end of the 2017-18 season.
At its end-of-the-year honors banquet in April, Penn State Altoona Athletics named Yaw, a participant in soccer, swimming, and volleyball, as its Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Diller, a women’s volleyball player, as its Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, the highest individual recognitions given at Penn State Altoona’s annual athletics honors ceremony, are given to one male and one female student-athlete who demonstrate excellence on the playing field and in the classroom.
On Wednesday, the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference announced that Yaw and Diller were Penn State Altoona’s male and female representatives on its annual All-Academic Team, which honors a total of 18 student-athletes from around the conference for their outstanding academic achievements during the past year.
2017-18 Penn State Altoona Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year / AMCC All-Academic Team
Tanner Yaw (Sophomore, men’s soccer/men’s swimming/men’s volleyball)
Penn State Altoona sophomore Tanner Yaw was chosen as the 2017-18 Male Scholar Athlete of the Year and named to the AMCC’s All-Academic Team. The first three-sport athlete in the NCAA era of Penn State Altoona Athletics, Yaw competed in soccer, swimming, and volleyball this past season while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
In soccer, Yaw was the Lions’ starting goalkeeper during the 2017 season, starting 16 of his team’s 17 games between the pipes and logging over 1,423 minutes in goal. He recorded three wins and ranked second in the AMCC in saves with 105.
“The position he plays is pretty much the last guy who has the responsibility of whether a goal goes in or it stays out. Whatever would happen, he’d always get back up and get right back after it,” said Penn State Altoona men’s soccer head coach Moe Taylor. “I’d like to have a whole team of players with his heart.”
In swimming, Yaw had a strong season while competing in several different individual and relay events for the Lions. Highlighting his 2017-18 season in the water was a record-setting performance during the AMCC Championships in February, when he set a new Penn State Altoona men’s swimming team record in the 400 Yard Individual Medley by finishing in 4:38.07.
In volleyball, Yaw appeared in 16 matches for a Lions team that posted a 16-13 overall record. He recorded 21 digs, seven kills, five assists, and four service aces.
An Accounting major at Penn State Altoona, Yaw impressively maintained a 4.0 GPA this past academic year while playing three sports. A Dean’s List student, he was also a member of the campus’ Student-Athlete Advisory Council. Yaw earned a spot on the 2017-18 AMCC Academic All-Conference Team, including a Peak Performer designation for compiling a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the school year.
Yaw hails from Palmyra, Pa. and graduated from Palmyra Area High School.
2017-18 Penn State Altoona Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year / AMCC All-Academic Team
Lauren Diller (Sophomore, women’s volleyball)
Penn State Altoona women’s volleyball’s sophomore outside hitter Lauren Diller was selected the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2017-18. Diller posted a standout year on the court and in the classroom.
Diller had an exceptional season during her sophomore campaign with the Lady Lions volleyball program. She was a first team AMCC All-Conference pick, and she was also named the AMCC Player of the Week one time and the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s Division III South Region Offensive Player of the Week once during the 2017 season.
Diller was among the top players statistically in the AMCC in 2017, as she ranked fourth in the conference in kills (263), fifth in points (301.0) and points per set (3.1), sixth in kills per set (2.74), 11th in digs (335), 13th in digs per set (3.49) and solo blocks (13), and 22nd in total blocks (29). She played in all 26 matches for her team, helping to lead the Lady Lions to a first place finish in the AMCC standings by the end of the 2017 regular season.
Diller is an Elementary Education major at Penn State Altoona, and she posted a 3.72 GPA. She has been named to the Dean’s List, and she is also a member of the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society for Education. Diller earned a spot on the 2017-18 AMCC Academic All-Conference Team, which included a special Peak Performer recognition for having a GPA of 3.5 or higher during the school year.
“Lauren is deserving of being named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year not only because of her achievements on the volleyball court, but especially for her contributions in Education,” said Penn State Altoona women’s volleyball head coach Phil Peterman. “She should be what every student-athlete strives to be at Penn State Altoona.”
Diller is a native of Chambersburg, Pa. and is a graduate of Chambersburg Area High School.