Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

UMAC Champion Northwestern leads volleyball all-conference listing with four first team awards

11/11/2009 12:01:41 PM

ST. PAUL -- In the same way that Northwestern College handily won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship for the third year in a row, the Eagles boasted four individuals on the league’s all-conference first team. Between the first team and honorable mention squads, Northwestern had six all-conference accolades. The College of St. Scholastica, who finished second in the conference and won the UMAC Postseason Tournament in a five-set thriller on Saturday, had four individual awards.  Northland College and the University of Minnesota, Morris, who rounded out the league’s top four teams, each had three selections.

Northwestern also boasted the UMAC’s Player of the Year as Steph Koth was voted by the coaches as the conference’s best player despite going down with a knee injury halfway through the season. Before the injury, Koth averaged 4.8 kills per set and a .359 attacking percentage while playing all six rotations in UMAC matches. The senior returned in a limited role in late October and was able to play in the back row in a total of seven conference contests, wrapping up a stat line that included a .947 receiving percentage and 3.71 digs per set.

St. Scholastica’s Paige Hardy was chosen as the UMAC Rookie of the Year after a boasting 2.98 kills per set, 3.7 digs per set and a .951 receiving percentage in league affairs throughout her freshman campaign. After injuries affected Northwestern’s rotation, the Eagles’ Kelsey Korporal stepped in nicely, averaging 5.51 digs per set and a .948 receiving percentage, earning her the Defensive Player of the Year award.

In association with the conference’s postseason awards, Northwestern head coach Beth Wilmeth was elected by her colleagues as the UMAC’s Coach of the Year. Wilmeth’s team went 14-0 in league play for the second consecutive year. The head coach has amassed a 41-1 UMAC record throughout the past three seasons.

See below for a full listing of the 2009 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference awards.