ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern dominated Thursday's release of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Volleyball postseason awards list, claiming seven of the 12 first team all-conference selections. The Eagles, who swept their league schedule with both UMAC regular season and postseason tournament championships, boasted the conference's freshman of the year, defensive player of the year, and coach of the year honors while also winning the team sportsmanship award.

Click here to read the full UMAC Volleyball postseason awards release.

Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) was named to the all-conference first team in her freshman year while also being named the UMAC Rookie of the Year. Peterson's 363 kills in all matches was first among UMAC players, while the newcomer also had top three marks in kills per set (3.08) and total digs (446). Peterson was the Eagles' top hitter in terms of kills per set in 2014, adding 3.77 digs per set. Peterson was a two-time UMAC Player of the Week, winning the honor in back-to-back weeks on October 21 and 30.

Peterson's older sister, Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork), was an all-conference recipient for the second straight year, getting an upgrade to the first team after being an honorable mention selection in 2013. Like Peterson, Mueth owned top 10s in the UMAC for overall kills (297), kills per set (2.68), hitting percentage (.255), and digs (333). Mueth, who transferred to Northwestern in 2013 after two years at Des Moines Community College, surpassed the 1,000 career kills mark this year.

 

Another Eagle to join the 1,000 Career Kills club in 2014, Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley), was named to the UMAC All-Conference list for the third time after being an honorable mention winner in 2011 and a first teamer in 2013. Miller, who was named last week's UMAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, finished the regular season third in the league for hitting percentage in conference contests (.337), while adding top 10 marks in kills (278) and kills per set(2.46), total blocks (71) and blocks per set (0.63).

Speaking of blocks per set, Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) has been among the UMAC's best at the net, earning the junior all-conference first team honors for the first time after an honorable mention selection in 2013. Vander Galien excelled on both offense and defense, averaging 2.37 kills per set and a .381 hitting rate against league opponents while totaling 88 blocks throughout the season, averaging 0.92 versus UMAC teams. Vander Galien had 14 blocks in two matches during the week of October 7, averaging 1.08 per set during those contests to lead up to a UMAC Defensive Player of the Week award.

Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ), who started at outside hitter two years ago in her first year in an Eagles uniform, moved to UNW's full-time defensive role as the team's libero in 2014. Not only did Potratz win all-conference first team honors, but the senior also was chosen as the UMAC Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches. Potratz, who was an honorable mention selection in 2013 and a first team winner in 2012, led all conference players in digs per set with an average of 4.88 against UMAC teams and 4.96 throughout the Eagles' full 31-match regular season. Potratz was also first among her peers with 565 total digs with a .979 receiving rate against opposing teams' serves, eclipsing the 1,000 digs mark for her career midway through the year. Potratz was the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week on September 16.

Rounding out Northwestern's list of first team all-conference winners was junior Lizzy Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian ). Jonas was the team's lone starting setter before Leesa Hulstrand (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) returned from an injury and the Eagles' split the job for the second half of 2014 in a modified 5-1 offensive system. During her time as the go-to solo setter, Jonas led the country in assists per set before finishing the UMAC slate with a 9.12 average. Jonas, a four-time UMAC Setter of the Week award winner, helped UNW hit .308 as a team against league opponents.

"It's an honor for our program to have six first team all-conference players," said Eagles head coach Beth Wilmeth. She added, "These awards come at the end of the season, but represent the effort and hard work of a team who has been diligently preparing since the end of our 2013 campaign. Behind every individual named all-conference was another player who pushed her to make her better, or offered encouragement during a tough stretch of the season. This group has been one of the most others-focused teams I have coached, and for me, that's the biggest 'win' of our season."

Northwestern's 14-0 finish against UMAC opponents led to the conference coaches voting Wilmeth as the league's coach of the year, marking the fourth time that she has been honored with that award (2012, 2009, 2007). The regular season championship was UNW's eighth in Wilmeth's 11 years at the team's helm while Northwestern's UMAC Tournament title – the school's third straight – has the Eagles in their fifth consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament. Northwestern was also awarded the UMAC Team Sportsmanship Award, an honor voted on by the league coaches that is given to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Senior Jacki Smith (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) was UNW's representative on the individual sportsmanship award list, which recognizes individual players for the same reason.