ST. PAUL, Minn.--- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their postseason volleyball awards on Monday. Among those receiving honors is Bethany Lutheran's Jasmine Carlson and Megan Rutt. Carlson is a junior from Windom, Minn. and Rutt is a sophomore from Le Center, Minn.. Both players received UMAC All-Conference Second Team honors. Together, Carlson and Rutt led the Vikings to an overall record of 10-20 and a conference record of 6-10.
For the last three years, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) has seen one volleyball individual take the spotlight more than any other player – University of Northwestern senior Lindsey Peterson capped off an amazing career with her third UMAC Player of the Year honor to highlight the UMAC postseason awards announced Monday.
In addition to Peterson's honor, champion Northwestern saw Beth Wilmeth selected by her peers as the UMAC Coach of the Year for the fourth-straight season after leading Northwestern to a its seventh regular season title in as many years. The University of Minnesota Morris picked up the two other top honors as Cougar libero Katie Reitsma earned the Defensive Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season and Mia Frick was picked as the Rookie of the Year. There were also 19 other athletes recognized with either All-UMAC First Team or Honorable Mention honors.
In 2016, Wilmeth led the Eagles to an unprecedented season as her squad made it to the NCAA Final Four. She and Peterson were named National Coach and Player of the Year, respectively. The followup to that spectacular season saw the Eagles continue to make history – they went on a school-record 20-match winning streak and ranked as high as No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national rankings. For three-striaght weeks, the Eagles have been ranked No. 1 spot in the Division III Central Region rankings and earned the right to host the NCAA regional tournament for the second year in a row with an overall record of 32-6.
Under Wilmeth's direction, the Eagles won a seventh regular season title and went a perfect 16-0 in league games – the Eagles have not lost a conference match since 2013. The Eagles led the conference in several team statistics categories in league games including hitting percentage (.334), kills per set (14.53), assists per set (13.37), opponent blocks' (1.10) and opponent aces (0.49).
The Eagles' success was fueled by another remarkable season for Peterson. The outside hitter dominated the conference stats with a league-best 5.05 kills per set and 222 total kills. She also was fifth in hitting percentage (.355) and ninth in digs per set (3.41). Peterson also earned the UMAC Offensive Player of the Week award six times this season.
In conference games, Peterson recorded a season-best 23 kills against Minnesota Morris in September and 25 digs against the Cougars in their second meeting in October. She tallied seven double-doubles in 16 conference matches and ended the regular season with 585 kills (4.83) overall and 456 overall digs (3.77 d/s). Peterson also became the Eagles' program leader in career kills and digs, and she currently ranks second in the nation in total kills and third in kills per set.
Reitsma anchored the Cougar defense that made it to the UMAC postseason championship match for the fifth-straight season. The senior led the UMAC in conference games with 4.83 digs per set average and tallied 251 digs. Her 694 overall digs this season also rank sixth in the nation. She eclipsed the 20-dig mark in 14 overall matches this season. The libero also tallied 25 digs in five-set loss to Northwestern for her top UMAC performance, while reaching 49 digs in a five-set match with the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
As a rookie, Frick added to the potent Minnesota Morris offense both in hitting and blocking. In conference matches, Frick averaged 2.24 k/s as an opposite hitter which was 12th in the UMAC. She also hit .337 in league games for sixth-best, while her 30 total blocks was tied for eighth. Overall, Frick was fourth for the Cougars in total kills (240) and third in total blocks (67).
Peterson is joined by just Kira Grev of Martin Luther College as seniors who have been named to the All-UMAC First Team all four years of their careers. Marissa Ekness of Minnesota Morris has also been named either First Team or Honorable Mention in each of the last four seasons.
Reitsma of Minnesota Morris and Emily VerWay of the University of Wisconsin-Superior both have earned All-UMAC for each of the last three years, while Jackie Doering (Northwestern), Leesa Malone and Jade St. Germaine (Martin Luther) have collected First Team or Honorable Mention honors for the third time in their careers.
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 - Lindsey Peterson, Sr., Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year - Katie Reitsma, Sr., Minnesota Morris
Rookie of the Year - Mia Frick, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year - Beth Wilmeth, Northwestern
2017 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Jackie Doering |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
L |
Charles City, Iowa/Charles City |
| Marissa Ekness |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
OH |
Webster, Minn./New Prague |
| Kira Grev |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
OH |
Oakdale, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran |
| Mariah Halvorsen |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
OH |
Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata |
| Layne Herrmann |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
S |
Brownton, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake |
| Christaia Houser |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
MB |
Esko, Minn./Esko |
| Leesa Malone |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
S |
Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie |
| Morgan Miller |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
MB |
Twin Valley, Minn./Ada-Borup |
| Lindsey Peterson |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
OH |
Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork |
| Katie Reitsma |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
DS/L |
Sauk Centre, Minn./Sauk Centre |
| Jade St. Germaine |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
OH |
Watertown, Wis./Luther Prep |
| Emily Ver Way |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
S |
Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley |
2017 UMAC Volleyball All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Bethany Best |
Northland |
Sr. |
OH |
Cable, Wis./Drummond |
| Jasmine Carlson |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
S |
Windom, Minn./Windom |
| Mackenzie Dahlin |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
L |
Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna |
| Mia Frick |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
OP |
Wayzata, Minn./Wayzata |
| Rachel Mathias |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
MH |
Heron Lake, Minn./Heron Lake-Okabena |
| Emma Middendorf |
North Central |
So. |
MB |
Glenwood, Minn./Minnewaska Area |
| Anna Ribich |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
OH |
Biwabik, Minn./Mesabi East |
| Megan Rutt |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
MB |
Le Center, Minn./Tri-City United |
| Kayla Tanner |
Northwestern |
So. |
MB |
Anoka, Minn./Anoka |
| Taylor Weber |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
L |
Germantown, Wis./Kettle Morraine Lutheran |
2017 UMAC Volleyball Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Northwestern
Bethany Lutheran - Alannah Menk, Jr., St. Cloud, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice
Crown - Michaela Svoboda, Sr., New Prague, Minn./New Prague
Martin Luther - Grace Schultz, Sr., Elkhorn, Wis./Fox Valley Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Kylee Hansen, Fy., Evansville, Minn./Brandon-Evansville
North Central - Ashley Kelzer, Sr., Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer
Northland - Amelia Olson, Fy., Gilman, Wis./Gilman
Northwestern - Abby Neuberger, Sr., Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian
St. Scholastica - Emily Bounds, Jr., Hill City, Minn./Hill City
Wisconsin-Superior - Katie Boone, Sr., Mindoro, Wis./Melrose-Mindoro
