Bump, set, strike: Three words that have defined the last four years for Makenzie Frodle.

Though the elementary education senior has finished up her last year on the SVSU volleyball team, her mark has been made both as a player and as a student.

Frodle won the 2014 GLIAC Commissioner’s Award for excellent work in the classroom and on the court.

“I feel extremely honored to have been picked out of so many talented people in the conference,” she said. “My most prominent emotions would be surprise and deep gratitude. It’s very rewarding knowing that my hard work is paying off.”

Along with winning the award, the second-team academic All-American worked on and presented her thesis last year, tackling the issue of language and the lack of a singular generic pronoun. Frodle noted that the research experience was “fascinating.”

“This project was one of the greatest things I’ve done at SVSU,” she said. “It was such a rewarding experience to be able to work on a research project that I was thoroughly interested in.

“I love language. I think it’s fascinating, so to be able to dedicate so much time to one facet of the English language and its profound effects was fun and very rewarding.”

While the life of a student athlete can be daunting at times, Frodle said she was able to find a way to balance school, sports and having a social life.

“There’s definitely an intricate balance and I lose a lot of sleep,” Frodle said. “There’s a lot of time spent on bus trips.”

All of the sacrifice paid off for Frodle, as her efforts on the court led to many accolades during her volleyball career at SVSU.

Personally, Frodle set the record for highest hitting percentage in a season, as well as a place on the all-GLIAC team.

The athlete’s greatest memory on the court at SVSU came when she was a sophomore, when her team led to victory in the GLIAC conference in Chicago.

“We went into the final bracket as the 8th seed and total underdogs, scraping into the top half by the skin of our teeth. However, we went undefeated and won first place in our conference. We just really clicked as a team that day, and it was a really enjoyable experience.”

Frodle added that she owes a lot to her team when it comes to her success on the court.

“A lot of it was the team atmosphere. It’s incredible to be surrounded by athletes with the same passion. My class that I came in with grew really close, and all of the other girls on the team really connected.”