LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 15 nationally ranked University of Northwestern volleyball team had two student-athletes earn national honors from the National Christian College Athletic Association as well as additional awards from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in cooperation with the NCCAA . Senior setter
Sydney Schwitters (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) was named the AVCA NCCAA Player of the Year, the NCCAA Player of the Year, as well as an AVCA NCCAA First Team All-American and NCCAA All-American First Team member. Freshman outside hitter
Abby Glanzer (Brandon, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) also earned AVCA NCCAA First Team All-American honors as well as NCCAA All-American First Team honors.
This is the second consecutive year that Schwitters has earned the NCCAA Player of the Year honor, her first year being named the AVCA NCCAA Player of the Year, third-consecutive year being named NCCAA All-American First Team, and her second year being named AVCA NCCAA First Team All-American. Schwitters earned these honors as the most efficient setter among all NCCAA athletes with 11.53 assists per set. The setter not only led all NCCAA athletes in assists per set, but led the runner-up by over one assist per set, with her 1.15 assist per set lead being the same difference between the runner-up and the ninth-ranked setter on the list.
Schwitters also led all NCAA DIII athletes in assists per set, and led the runner up by 0.51 assists per set. Her lead over the NCAA DIII runner-up was as great as the runner-up's lead over the 14
th ranked setter in the nation. In a record setting season, Schwitters became the all-time program leader in total assists and assists per set. The senior finished her career with 4,684 assists, surpassing Christine Engel's mark of 4,469, and 11.18 assists per set, ahead of Krista Stoltz's record of 10.96 per set.
This fall, Schwitters has also been named AVCA Second Team All-American, NCCAA North Central Region Player of the Year, NCCAA North Central All-Region, UMAC Player of the Year, UMAC All-Conference First Team, Katherine Pals Invitational Tournament MVP, Katherine Pals Invitational All-Tournament Team, and Trinity Invitational All-Tournament Team. The senior setter also earned multiple weekly honors as an AVCA Player of the Week, two-time NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week, and seven-time UMAC Setter of the Week.
Glanzer has earned both NCCAA All-American First Team honors as well as AVCA NCCAA First Team All-American honors in her first year of eligibility. The freshman outside hitter ranked second in the NCCAA with 4.57 kills per set, accumulating 443 kills on the season. In the NCAA DIII, Glanzer ranked third in the nation in kills per set. She also ranked second in the NCAA DIII with 5.30 points per set.
This fall, Glanzer has also been named AVCA Freshman of the Year, AVCA First Team All-American, NCCAA North Central Region Freshman of the Year, NCCAA North Central All-Region, UMAC Freshman of the Year, UMAC All-Conference First Team, Katherine Pals Invitational All-Tournament Team, and Trinity Invitational All-Tournament Team. The freshman outside hitter also earned multiple weekly honors as an AVCA Player of the Week, NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week, and three-time UMAC Offensive Player of the Week.
This fall, Glanzer and Schwitters led the Eagles to a 30-4 record and a perfect 14-0 record in conference play. Northwestern won their 11
th consecutive UMAC Championship and their ninth UMAC Tournament Championship in the past decade. UNW qualified for the NCAA Championship tournament and made it to the Round of 32 by defeated Illinois Wesleyan 3-0 in the opening round.
