Eagles' Schwitters, Saints' Draper headline 2019 UMAC volleyball awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The fall of 2019 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) volleyball played out in a way that it never has before with three teams sharing the regular season title as tri-champions including the College of St. Scholastica, University of Minnesota Morris and University of Northwestern. Now, those three programs have shared the top honors and dominate the all-conference awards list announced Monday.
Regular season and postseason champion Northwestern grabbed the Player of the Year award for the fifth-straight season as sophomore setter Sydney Schwitters was tabbed with that accolade. Tri-champion College of St. Scholastica collected the three other honors with rookie libero Alcia Draper being named both Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, while Dana Moore was selected as Coach of the Year by her peers for the fourth time in her career. Northwestern led the All-UMAC selections with six total, while St. Scholastica, Minnesota Morris and the University of Wisconsin-Superior each had five total honorees.
In just her second season of UMAC competition, Schwitters has established herself as one of the top difference-makers in the conference. The two-time All-UMAC First Team selection led the conference in setting with 10.46 assists per set (a/s) in conference play. Schwitters also added 2.54 digs per set (d/s) against UMAC foes in the regular season. Four times Schwitters was selected as the UMAC Setter of the Week. She eclipsed 50 assists six times this season including both matches against Wisconsin-Superior with a season-high 56 assists in the five-set semifinal thriller against the Yellowjackets. Schwitters also tallied 14 double-doubles including three in UMAC games.
This season the Saints had an impressive year in winning their first share of the conference title since 2011. Draper was a large part of that success in her first year leading the team's defensive efforts. The rookie led the UMAC with 5.96 d/s in conference play. This season she had 11 matches with 20-plus digs with two over 30. Her season-high 39 assists came in a regular-season win over bridge rival Wisconsin-Superior. Draper was selected as the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season.
Draper was a key part of the success of the Saints that won a share of the regular season title in Moore's 23rd season at the helm of the program. That success earned Moore her first Coach fo the Year nod since 2003. Her Saints finished 7-1 in conference play and were the only team to knock off Northwestern in conference games this year. Additionally, the Saints led the conference in kills per set (13.39) and a/s (12.61).
Northwestern boasted a total of six all-conference honorees to lead the field, but tri-champion Minnesota Morris topped the First Team list with three selections including Layne Herrmann and Morgan Miller who were two of three players who finished their careers earning a spot on one of the all-conference teams in each of their four years. Herrmann was a four-time First Team selection and the 2016 Rookie of the Year. Miller earned First Team honors twice, while Bethany Lutheran College senior outside hittter Megan Rutt earned four honors including her third First Team award this fall.
In addition to Schwitters, three other players on the lists have earned all-conference accolades in back-to-back seasons including Jenay Fuglestad (Northwestern), Brooke Schermann (St. Scholastica) and Cami Sletta (Wisconsin-Superior).
North Central University 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* - Sydney Schwitters, So., Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year^ - Alcia Draper, St. Scholastica
Rookie of the Year% - Alcia Draper, St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year - Dana Moore, St. Scholastica
2019 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Alcia Draper^% |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
L |
Williams, Minn./Lake of the Woods |
| Layne Herrmann |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
S |
Brownton, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake |
| Morgan Miller |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
MB |
Twin Valley, Minn./Ada-Borup |
| Megan Rutt |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
OH |
Le Center, Minn./Tri-City United |
| Brooke Schermann |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
OH |
Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace |
| Marylyn Schroyer |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
L |
Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins |
| Sydney Schwitters* |
Northwestern |
So. |
S |
Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY |
| Cami Sletta |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
RS |
Willmar, Minn./Willmar |
| Brenna Tinjum |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
OH |
Underwood, Minn./Underwood |
2019 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Madissen Burns |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
MB |
Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer |
| Yana Carrera |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
L |
North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West |
| Brylee Colligan |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
OH |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
| Tori Everson |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
OH |
Willmar, Minn./Kerkohven-Murdock-Sunburg |
| Jenay Fuglestad |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
OH |
Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian |
| Anna Gasch |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
MB |
Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock |
| Jessica Remer |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
OH |
Grand Forks, N.D./Sacred Heart |
| Kalley Schwitters |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
OH |
Clara City, Minn./Central Christian |
2019 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Espi Austvold |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
S |
Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer |
| Gina Baertsch |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
S/OH |
Farmington, Minn./Farmington |
| Hannah Goggleye |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
MH |
Calumet, Minn./Greenway |
| Kendra Hardy |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
RS |
Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria |
| Veeva Lee |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
L |
St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Johnson |
| Alyssa Ukestad |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
L |
Jamestown, S.D./Jamestown |
2019 UMAC Volleyball Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - North Central
Bethany Lutheran - Bethany Karnopp, Jr., Albuquerque, N.M./Volcano Vista
Crown - Talana Rudzitis, So., Nowthen, Minn./Legacy Christian
Martin Luther - Camryn Biebert, Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Mia Frick, Jr., Wayzata, Minn./Wayzata
North Central - Myah Womer, Fy., Peoria, Ill./Richwoods
Northland - Amelia Olson, Jr., Gilman, Wis./Gilman
Northwestern - Karly Fehr, So., Morris, Minn./Morris
St. Scholastica - Tatum Swanson, Sr., Carlton, Minn./Wrenshall
Wisconsin-Superior - Brylee Colligan, Sr., Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji