MALIBU, Calif. ­Â— Julie Rubenstein, a recent Pepperdine graduate and a four-year standout with the women’s volleyball team, has been named a recipient of the 2009 Mike Gilleran Award as the West Coast Conference’s top female scholar-athlete.
Rubenstein (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS) finished one of the best careers in Pepperdine history in 2008. She was named to the AVCA All-American third team as a senior, and earned All-West Coast Conference honors in each of her four seasons, including the last three on the first team. She was selected to the AVCA All-Pacific Region first team honors for the first time in 2008. Rubenstein was also voted Pepperdine’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 2007-08.
Rubenstein led the WCC in both kills (4.42) and points (5.14) per set in 2008. She finished her Pepperdine career third all-time with 1,743 kills, third with 2,064 points, fifth with 4.12 kills per set and fifth with 116 service aces. Quite impressively, she never missed a set in her four-year career, playing in all 423. She helped Pepperdine to NCAA Tournament appearances all four seasons.
Also a standout in the classroom, Rubenstein is a three-time WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient, a three-time WCC All-Academic selection and a two-time CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honoree. She boasts nearly a 3.6 grade-point average and graduated with a degree in liberal arts. Rubenstein was Pepperdine’s first-ever representative on the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the WCC SAAC Chairperson and a co-chair of the school’s SAAC. Her community service record includes volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and the Boys and Girls Club.
The Mike Gilleran Award is named after the former commissioner of the WCC. It is the highest honor in the WCC, and it is selected by a vote of the WCC’s institutional representatives to recognize the finest accomplishments in athletics, academics and community service by individuals who have completed their WCC eligibility.
The 2009 men’s award was won by Gregory Moss, a golfer from Loyola Marymount.
“The West Coast Conference member institutions’ mission is to promote the ideals of leadership not only on the field, but also within the classroom and in the community,” WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said. “Gregory and Julie have exhibited those characteristics throughout their college careers and I am proud to recognize them as this year’s Scholar-Athletes.”
Rubenstein is the second Pepperdine female to claim the WCC’s Scholar-Athlete Award, joining women’s golfer Katherine Hull in 2003. Pepperdine men have been honored five times.
