Northwestern, Minnesota Morris duos lead 2016 UMAC volleyball award recipients
ST. PAUL, Minn.---After taking the top two spots in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) volleyball standings, respectively, the University of Northwestern and the University of Minnesota Morris headlined the postseason awards each taking two of the top four honors announced Thursday.
Beth Wilmeth was selected by her peers as the UMAC Coach of the Year for the third-straight season after leading Northwestern to a its sixth regular season title in as many years, while Lindsey Peterson repeated as the Player of the Year. Minnesota Morris libero Katie Reitsma earned the Defensive Player of the Year nod and setter Layne Hermann was picked as the Rookie of the Year.
Wilmeth's Eagles built on their success from 2015 in posting a program-best 30-4 overall record and 8-0 mark in conference play to earn the top seed in the UMAC volleyball playoffs. The Eagles cruised to their fifth-straight tournament title and make their seventh-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance beginning Thursday. Wilmeth's squad ranks No. 18 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national rankings and have reigned supreme with the No. 1 spot in the Division III Central Region rankings for four weeks. With the top ranking, the Eagles earned the right to host the NCAA regional tournament – a first for any UMAC program in any sport.
Under Wilmeth's direction, the Eagles led the conference in nearly every team statistics category in league games including hitting percentage (.323), opponent hitting percentage (.064), kills per set (14.92), opponent kills (8.40), assists per set (14.40), opponents' assists (7.92), blocks per set (2.56), opponent blocks' (1.00), opponent aces (0.52) and opponent digs (13.88).
The Eagles' success was fueled by another remarkable season for junior Peterson. The outside hitter dominated the conference stats with a league-best 5.32 kills per set and 133 total kills. She also was second in hitting percentage (.390) and seventh in digs per set (4.32). Peterson also earned the UMAC Offensive Player of the Week award seven times and six in a row to end the season.
In conference games, Peterson recorded a season-best 26 kills and 33 digs against the University fo Wisconsin-Superior, while her overall-best was a 29-kill outing against the University of St. Thomas in five sets. She tallied three double-doubles in her eight conference matches and totaled 22 in the overall season. Peterson ended the regular season with 553 total kills and 477 overall digs.
Reitsma anchored the Cougar defense that made it to the UMAC postseason championship match for the fourth-straight season. The junior led the UMAC in conference games with an outstanding 7.14 digs per set average and four times earned UMAC Defensive Player fot he Week recognition. She eclipsed the 20-dig mark in three conference matches and 15 times overall this fall. The libero also tallied a season-best 39 digs against Stevens College to open the season.
The strong Cougar offense was fueled by Herrmann who led the UMAC in setting with 10.79 assists per set. The rookie setter surpassed the 1,000-assist mark and recorded 30-plus assists in five conference matches and 19 total matches. Herrmann was also three-time UMAC Setter of the Week. Her career-best performance came against Concordia College where she dished out 52 assists, while her conference best was a 40-assist night against Northwestern.
Peterson is joined by just Kira Grev of Martin Luther College as individuals who have been named to the All-UMAC First Team three years in row. Marissa Ekness of Minnesota Morris and Noelle Elvehjem of the College of St. Scholastica have also been named either First Team or Honorable Mention in each of the last three seasons.
Reitsma is joined by 2015 Rookie of the Year Emily VerWay from Wisconsin-Superior and 2016 UMAC Tournament MVP as the only three players to earn back-to-back All-UMAC First Team accolades. Four other student-athletes earned either First Team or Honorable Mention honors for the second time in their careers including Jackie Doering and Leesa Hulstrand of Northwestern, Elissa Pheneger of North Central University and Jade St. Germaine of Martin Luther.
Martin Luther won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year - Lindsey Peterson, Jr., Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year - Katie Reitsma, Jr., Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year - Layne Herrmann, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year - Beth Wilmeth, Northwestern
2016 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Jackie Doering |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
L |
Charles City, Iowa |
| Marissa Ekness |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
OH |
Webster, Minn. |
| Noelle Elvehjem |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
RS |
Mora, Minn. |
| Shanay Gonder |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
MH |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Kira Grev |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
OH |
Oakdale, Minn. |
| Layne Herrmann |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
S |
Brownton, Minn. |
| Leesa Hulstrand |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
S/RS |
Eden Prairie, Minn. |
| Lindsey Peterson |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
OH |
Sheffield, Iowa |
| Katie Reitsma |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
DS/L |
Sauk Centre, Minn. |
| Megan Rutt |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
MB |
Le Center, Minn. |
| Jade St. Germaine |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
OH |
Watertown, Wis. |
| Emily Ver Way |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
S |
Inver Grove Heights, Minn. |
2016 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Alex Barsody |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
DS |
Onamia, Minn. |
| Jasmine Carlson |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
S/DS |
Windom, Minn. |
| Camile Eastburn |
Northland |
Jr. |
OH |
Cedar Rapids, Iowa |
| Christaia Houser |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
MB |
Esko, Minn. |
| Nikki Kienzle |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
MB |
Hermantown, Minn. |
| Alexis Landherr |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
RS |
Cambridge, Minn. |
| Kristen Mielke |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
MH |
New Germany, Minn. |
| Morgan Miller |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
MH. |
Twin Valley, Minn. |
| Elissa Pheneger |
North Central |
Sr. |
S |
Roseville, Minn. |
| Rylee Weisensel |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
MH |
New Ulm, Minn. |
2016 UMAC Volleyball Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Martin Luther
Bethany Lutheran - Shelby Sichender, Jr., Watertown, Minn.
Crown - Michaela Svoboda, Jr., New Prague, Minn.
Martin Luther - Emily Neeb, Sr., Gilbert, Ariz.
Minnesota Morris - Lizzie Kaiser, So., Bismarck, N.D.
North Central - Emma Middendorf, Fy., Glenwood, Minn.
Northland - Hannah Hitchcock, So., Las Vegas, Nev.
Northwestern - Kylee Thiner, Sr., Ankeny, Iowa
St. Scholastica - Sofia Rajala, So., Deer River, Minn.
Wisconsin-Superior - Mackenzie Dahlin, Jr., Kaukauna, Wis.