Haleigh Washington

Classroom

Haleigh Washington, a philosophy major, is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earning second-team honors in 2015, and third-team honors in 2016. She also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in her sophomore and junior seasons. She has also been named to the Penn State Dean’s List in multiple semesters. She has worked on multiple independent studies and has done one-on-one research work with faculty members at Penn State.

Character

As a team captain of the Penn State women’s volleyball program, Washington is a vocal leader as well as a lead-by-example player. She came back from a surgery in February 2016 and was ready to compete by August 2016, receiving first-team All-American honors for her junior season and showing her drive to get better and stronger every day. She is also a member of the Senior Honor Societies at Penn State. Washington is extremely engaging and prides herself in her ability to make anyone laugh.

Community

Washington has participated in Athletes Take Action Hall of Fame Sport’s Walk and volunteered for the Special Olympics. She also has taken part in Athletes Take Action Halloween Hall of Fame Walk and taken time to read to children at the local elementary schools. She has taken part in helping with the Paterno Family Fun Run, participated in Multiple Penn State Sports Camps and helped with Paterno Library Reading Marathon.

Competition

Washington is a two-time first-team AVCA All-American, earning the honors in 2015 and 2016. She also was named a Volleyball Magazine All-American during those seasons. She was a starting middle blocker on the 2014 National Champion team and has helped the team finish in the top 10 in each of her first three years at Penn State. In 2014 she was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team. Washington has surpassed 1,000 career kills, and 500 career blocks, and leads the nation in hitting percentage.

Washington has been named to the All-Big Ten team every year, including being a unanimous selection in 2015 and 2016. In 2014 she was named as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She has earned eight Big Ten Player of the Week honors, which is tied for second most in Big Ten history. She was named the Sports Impact/AVCA National Player of the Week. She has earned multiple preseason all-tournament honors throughout her career.