Northwestern sweeps top three UMAC postseason volleyball awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Following an eighth-straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) volleyball regular season title, the University of Northwestern swept the top three postseason player honors to highlight the conference's postseason awards announced Monday.
Senior Mariah Halvorsen was tabbed the UMAC Player of the Year, while Freya Hanson was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Sydney Schwitters was voted Rookie of the Year by the UMAC coaches. University of Wisconsin-Superior head coach Lynne Deadrick was selected the UMAC Coach of the Year by her peers after leading her squad to it's best finish since joining the UMAC.
In just her second season of UMAC competition, Halvorsen led the Eagles' dominant offense to a 15-1 conference record and 23-9 overall mark. The outside hitter ranked second in UMAC games for kill per set (4.20) and hit .302 which ranked in the top 10 this fall. Halvorsen also ranked second int he UMAC for aces (0.56/s) and was in the top 15 for digs (2.88/s). Against UMAC teams during the regular season, Halvorsen recorded five kill-dig double doubles and eclipsed the 20-kill mark in two matches.
Halvorsen and the Northwestern offense wouldn't have had the same success without rookie setter Schwitters who topped the UMAC in conference play with 11.91 assists per set and has led all of Division III throughout the year (currently 11.66/s). In addition to her assists mark, Schwitters ranked in the top 15 in UMAC play with 2.80 d/s. Her conference-best performance came in a five-set thriller against the University of Minnesota Morris with 52 assists and she recorded 40 or more assist eight times in UMAC matches.
The third key player for the Eagles was Hanson who was the top defensive player recognized after she had to change her role in the program and served as the team's libero in a majority of conference matches this season. The senior ranked third in the conference with 4.22 d/s in league play and tallied a confrence season-high 25 digs against Minnesota Morris. Twice in UMAC games Hanson tallied at least 20 digs and five times recorded at least 15 digs.
While Northwestern enjoyed continued team success, Wisconsin-Superior shook up the standings and pressured the Eagles for the title in Deadrick's 16th season at the helm. Under Deadrick's direction, the Yellowjackets posted a 14-2 UMAC record and ended Northwestern's 65-match regular-season UMAC undefeated streak with a 3-0 win at home Oct. 16. The second-place finish is the best for the Yellowjackets since joining the league in 2015, and the 20 wins is the second most in program history under Deadrick's leadership.
Deadrick's Yellowjackets led the new-format all-conference awards list with five total selections among the three teams including two individuals on First Team. This year, the all-conference list includes eight individuals on First Team, eight on Second Team and six as Honorable Mention. Northwestern led the First Team selections with three including Halvorsen, Schwitters and Jenay Fuglestad.
Yellowjacket senior Emily VerWay leads the 22-player list as the only individual recognized First Team All-UMAC four times. She was also the 2015 UMAC Rookie of theYear. Layne Herrmann – who was named the Tournament MVP after leading the Cougars to their first tournament title – picked up her third-straight All-UMAC First Team award. Megan Rutt of Bethany Lutheran College and Morgan Miller of Minnesota Morris have each been selected to one of the three All-UMAC teams in each of their first three seasons. Halvorsen is a back-to-back All-UMAC First Team selection.
Northwestern also 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* - Mariah Halvorsen, Sr., Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year^ - Freya Hanson, Sr., Northwestern
Rookie of the Year% - Sydney Schwitters, Fy., Northwestern
Coach of the Year - Lynne Deadrick, Wisconsin-Superior
2018 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Jenay Fuglestad |
Northwestern |
So. |
MB |
Maple Grove, Minn./Heritage Christian |
| Mariah Halvorsen* |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
OH |
Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata |
| Layne Herrmann |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
S |
Brownton, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake |
| Megan Rutt |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
OH |
Le Center, Minn./Tri-City United |
| Brooke Schermann |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
OH |
Brooklyn Park, Minn./Totino-Grace |
| Sydney Schwitters% |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
S |
Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY |
| Cami Sletta |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
RS |
Willmar, Minn./Willmar |
| Emily Ver Way |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
S |
Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley |
2018 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Emily Bounds |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
OH |
Hill City, Minn./Hill City |
| Ruth Buchholz |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
MH |
Phoenix, Ariz./Arizona Lutheran |
| Freya Hanson^ |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
L/OH |
Otsego, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville |
| Taylor Howe |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
OH |
Webster, Minn./Webster |
| Karlie Leif |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
L |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
| Rachel Mathias |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
MH |
Heron Lake, Minn./Heron Lake-Okabena |
| Morgan Miller |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
MB |
Twin Valley, Minn./Ada-Borup |
| Sofia Rajala |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
MB |
Deer River, Minn./Greenway |
2018 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Christine Anderson |
Crown |
Jr. |
MB |
New Prague, Minn./New Prague |
| Katelyn Aswege |
Martin Luther |
Fy. |
L |
Thiensville, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran |
| Ashlee Bayer |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
MH |
Cameron, Wis./Cameron |
| Adriana Galtieri |
Northland |
Sr. |
L |
Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial |
| Kalli Mathiasen |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
S |
St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo |
| Maddie Stocker |
North Central |
Sr. |
L |
Woodbury, Minn./New Life Academy |
2018 UMAC Volleyball Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran - Mackenna Hinz, Sr., Burnsville, Minn./Rosemount
Crown - Christine Anderson, Jr., New Prague, Minn./New Prague
Martin Luther - Camryn Biebert, So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Rachel Mathias, Sr., Heron Lake, Minn./Heron Lake-Okabena
North Central - Alejandra Llerena-Correa, So., Columbia Heights, Minn./Columbia Heights
Northland - Amelia Olson, So., Gilman, Wis./Gilman
Northwestern - Kaelyn Kilbo, Sr., Delano, Minn./Delano
St. Scholastica - Emily Bounds, Sr., Hill City, Minn./Hill City
Wisconsin-Superior - Brylee Colligan, Jr., Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji