Kristen Stucker's collegiate career has been just about perfect through most of three seasons.

The reigning Ohio Valley Conference Setter of the Year isn't just the top pilot of the league's most potent offense—the Johnston, Iowa native is low-key one of the nation's best setters. Consider the following:

• Over the last two seasons, Stucker's 2,588 assists rank second. Not in the OVC—nationally.
• They never made it official, but with three OVC Setter of the Week honors last season and nine through 11 weeks of 2017 action, that honor has all but been rechristened the Kristen Stucker Award.
• She's already fifth all-time in APSU history in assists—with at least a handful of matches remaining in her junior season.
• Has piloted two of the top-seven offensive campaigns by attack percentage in school history, with 2017's .231 mark currently ranking second.
• Conspired to help end archrival Murray State's stranglehold on regular season titles—in fact, when the Govs host the 2017 OVC Tournament, Nov. 16-18, it will be the first time the tournament is held in Tennessee since 2008.

And that's barely even half the story.

As good as Stucker is on the court—and with a year-plus remaining in her Austin Peay career, the phrase "greatest setter in school history" absolutely is on the table—the "student" part of the phrase student-athlete is undeniably greater.

Tuesday, Stucker earned one of six OVC Scholar-Athlete honors. It's among the greatest honors a student-athlete in the OVC can receive—a recognition not only of athletic or academic prowess, but an acknowledgement across the conference of its very best representatives. Only the best and brightest receive this award.

We know of Stucker's athletic accolades—those make news, seemingly every week.

But don't overlook what she does in the classroom. 4.0 students don't grow on trees, especially not in a demanding discipline—excuse me, demanding disciplines. A biology major starting out, she recently added agriculture to the slate while keeping a chemistry minor. Name an honor society, there's a pretty decent chance she's a part of it. She plans to be a veterinarian; one imagines she'll be a good one. One imagines she'd be pretty good at whatever she put her mind to.

Human nature being what it is, Stucker wouldn't be remiss if she were prone to a little arrogance over the whole thing. Instead, she projects with dignity, humility and a self-effacing demeanor that deflects credit from her and onto others.

How does it feel to serve as the steward for one of the league's top offenses?

"It's all so intertwined," she said. "For me to be successful, our outside hitters have to do their jobs. For them to be successful, I have to do mine. We're so reliant on one another, I can't take all the credit."

How are you able to be so successful on the academic side?

"My professors and our academic support people are amazing," she said—conveniently leaving out that she herself is one of those academic support people, offering tutoring to fellow student-athletes.

So a veterinarian, that's interesting. Why did you want to become a vet?

"I like helping," she said. "I grew up riding horses and always loved animals."

So how do you feel about this team? Think you've got a chance to turn some heads?

"When we beat Missouri early in the season, that gave us a whole new mindset that we can play with anybody," she said. "With so many options in the attack, it's tough for our opponents to key on anyone, which makes it my responsibility to choose the right read."

Should Austin Peay secure its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010, the Govs will need to be just about perfect if they want to upset a top-seeded opponent. Fortunately, as Stucker has proven during her career, if anybody can do "just about perfect", it's her.