Northwestern trio leads 2021 UMAC volleyball postseason awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The University of Northwestern has put together one of its best seasons in program history with an impressive 25-3 overall record as it heads to the NCAA championship to represent the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) following a third-straight postseason title win Saturday. The Eagles also finished the regular season with an impressive 14-0 conference record for an 11th-consecutive title thanks to three players who swept the conference's top player honors announced Monday.
Sydney Schwtters was tabbed the UMAC Player of the Year for the second time in her career, while libero Marylyn Schroyer earned the Defensive Player of the Year nod and Abby Glanzer was picked as Rookie of the Year. Martin Luther College head coach Rebecca Cox was voted Coach of the Year by her peers following a successful season for the Knights.
Schwitters caps off her incredible four-year career fueling the Northwestern offense with perhaps her best season yet. The senior setter currently leads NCAA Division III in assists per set (a/s) with 11.43 and is 10th in total assists (1,097). Schwitters has helped the Eagles rank third in nation for kills per set (k/s) and fourth in hitting percentage. In Wednesday's semifinal win over Martin Luther, Schwitters became the all-time program leader in career assists when she recorded No. 4,470. Her efforts have helped the Eagles maintain a No. 15 national ranking and No. 2 spot in the NCAA Division III Region IX rankings.
In conference play this season, Schwitters leads with 11.64 a/s and is sixth in service aces per set with 0.43. She also ranks in the top 20 for digs per set (d/s) with 2.93 against UMAC foes. In overall games this season, Schwitters tallied 24 matches with 30 or more asssists and nine with 40-plus. Her season high 58 came in the opening weekend five-set win over rival Bethel University. The Player of the Year and Tournament MVP also had 10 assist-dig double-double performances this season and earned seven of the nine possible UMAC Setter of the Week awards.
The success of Northwestern's offense wouldn't be possible without its defense which was anchored all season by the impressive play Schroyer. The junior libero was second in conference play with 5.34 d/s and first overall with 5.57 d/s which is 24th-best in NCAA Division III. Her 574 total digs also ranks 16th in the nation. Schroyer recorded 13 matches this season where she tallied at least 20 digs including 36 in the team's five-set loss to undefeated No. 4 Wartburg College. Her season-high performance came in the final weekend of the regular season with a remarkable 41 digs in a four set win (10.25 d/s) against Bethany Lutheran College. She was also picked four times as the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week this fall.
While Schwitters and Schroyer bring veteran talent and leadership to the Eagles, rookie Glanzer shows off the bright future for the young squad. The outside hitter had a sparkling first season in the UMAC leading in conference games with 4.19 k/s and ranking third in hitting percentage (.332). She also was 10th with 3.32 d/s to help on both offense and defense. In overall matches this season, Glanzer owns 4.52 k/s and 5.24 points per set marks that rank her third in NCAA Division III in each respective category. This fall, Glanzer had six matches with over 20 kills and 12 kill-dig double-doubles. She eclipsed 27 kills twice this season in five-set wins over Bethel and Chapman University.
Martin Luther showed significant improvement in 2021 which caught the attention of the UMAC coaches and favored Cox and her squad. The Knights finished with a 9-5 conference record to earn fourth place and a spot in the conference tournament – the team's first since 2017 (not including the 2021 spring season in which all teams qualified). The Knights were seventh this past spring and tied for sixth in 2019 with just two conference wins in each of those years. Cox and Knights' season was highlighted by impressive wins over the University of Minnesota Morris and the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
The Eagles headlined the all-conference list with six total players recognized across the three teams including a conference-best three First Team selections. Minnesota Morris and Wisconsin-Superior tied for second with 10-4 records and earned five and four selections, respectively. Martin Luther had two individuals recognized, and Bethany Lutheran had one.
Schwitters leads a select group of players who have earned multiple all-conference accolades. She is the only individual who has been selected First Team four times in her career, and teammate Schroyer is the only other player with three First Team selections. Three other players have been named to one of the three teams three times including Kate Aswege (Martin Luther), Kendra Hardy (Northwestern) and Alyssa Ukestad (Minnesota Morris). Six players have earned one of the three honors twice including Kelsey Birschbach (Martin Luther), Megan Holz (Wisconsin-Superior), Maggie Jones (Minnesota Morris), McKenzie Newton (Minnesota), Alexie Pryd (Wisconsin-Superior) and Gabby Straub (Northwestern).
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, Sr., Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year^ - Marylyn Schroyer, Jr., Northwestern
Rookie of the Year% - Abby Glanzer, Fy., Northwestern
Coach of the Year - Rebecca Cox, Martin Luther
2021 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Abby Glanzer# |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
OH |
Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian |
| Alexie Pryd |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
OH |
Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove |
| Marylyn Schroyer% |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
L |
Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins |
| Sydney Schwitters* |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
S |
Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY |
| Alyssa Ukestad |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
L |
Jamestown, S.D./Jamestown |
| Laura Wellbrock |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
OH/RS |
Northfield, Minn./Northfield |
2021 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Jenna Anderson |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
L |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
| Kelsey Birschbach |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
OH |
Deforest, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran |
| Kendra Hardy |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
RS |
Alexandria, Minn./Alexandria |
| Maggie Jones |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
MB |
St. Paul, Minn./Nova Classical Academy |
| Gabby Straub |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
OH |
Le Seuer, Minn./Le Seuer-Henderson |
| Cassy Teff |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
S/OH |
Foley, Minn./Foley |
2021 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Kate Aswege |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
L |
Thiensville, Wis./Kettle Morraine Lutheran |
| Kiera Brown |
Northwestern |
So. |
MB |
Columbia Falls, Mont./Columbia Falls |
| Megan Holz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
S |
Savage, Minn./Burnsville |
| Lydia Nash |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
OH |
Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Jefferson |
| McKenzie Newton |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
S |
West Fargo, N.D./West Fargo Sheyenne |
| Alexis Morsching |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
OH |
Morristown, Minn./Waterville-Elysian-Morristown |
2021 UMAC Volleyball Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - North Central
Bethany Lutheran - Arissa (Wilson) Shade, Sr., Eyota, Minn./Dover-Eyota
Crown - Talana Rudzitis, Jr., Nowthen, Minn./Legacy Christian
Martin Luther - Kylie Wolf, Sr., Greenville, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Jenna Howden, Sr., Morris, Minn./Morris
North Central - Mary Botz, Fy., Billings, Mont./Yellowstone County Christian
Northland - Elizabeth Montgomery, So., Dassel, Minn.
Northwestern - Hope Kapelke, Sr., Ft. Atkinson, Wis./Ft. Atkinson
Wisconsin-Superior - Jordyn O'Brien, Sr., Superior, Wis./Superior