GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Announced this evening at the 2011 Great West Conference Volleyball Tournament banquet, University of North Dakota redshirt freshman setter Nikki Husfeldt was named the co-recipient of the GWC Freshman of the Year Award, sharing the honor with Jasmine Casey of Houston Baptist. Husfeldt was also named to the all-conference first team and the All-Newcomer Team.
"We are very excited about Nikki and everything that she has done for us this year," head coach Ashley Hardee said. "She is an exceptional athlete. She came off of an injury last season, bounced back and had a great offseason. We're all excited about her and what she is capable of in the future."
The only GWC player averaging double-figure assists, Husfeldt leads the league with 10.78 assists per match and is the lone player to register a trio of matches with 50-plus assists this season. Against South Dakota (Nov. 1), she recorded a career-high 58 assists to tie the 2011 Great West single-match record.
Husfeldt was joined on the all-conference first team by senior outside hitter Devin Trefz (Bagley, Minn.). This is the third consecutive first team honor for Trefz, who currently holds the GWC single-match record after registering a .588 (12k-2e-17a) hitting percentage during UND's sweep over Texas-Pan American (Oct. 15).
"Devin is one of the best attackers in the conference and has been since the conference started in 2009," Hardee said. "Not only can she attack at a high level, but she also helps us out defensively with her ability to block. She's does an excellent job of anchoring that side of the net for us."
Sophomore middle blocker Lisa Parlich (Delavan, Wis.), senior middle blocker Tia Russell (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), and senior outside hitter Annika Smed (Albert Lea, Minn.) were named to the all-conference second team.
"We were well represented throughout a lot of the individual awards tonight," Hardee said. "Lisa, Tia and Annika were well deserving of the all-conference honor."
Parlich ranks second in the GWC with a .351 (73k-19e-154a) hitting percentage during conference play and has recorded three of the league's top eight attacking performances. Russell set a new UND all-time single-match record when she posted 16 blocks during UND's 3-1 victory over Santa Clara (Sept. 10) and currently leads the conference in both total blocks (1.18/set) and solo blocks (17). One of only seven players at UND to gain membership into both the 1,000 Digs Club and the 1,000 Kills Club, Smed ranks fifth in the conference kills (2.53/set) and sixth in digs (3.35/set).
Joining Husfeldt on the All-Newcomer Team was true freshmen Lexi Robinson (OH, Ramsey, Minn.) and Felicia Ulrich (OH, Woodbury, Minn.).
"All three of these players have been great for us on offense this year and all three have very bright futures in store for them," Hardee said. "We'll graduate a handful of seniors this year, but with players like this, the horizon looks real bright for our volleyball program."
An Oct. 25 GWC Offensive Player of the Week, Robinson tallied the league's best four-set match performance when she registered a career-high 23 kills at NJIT (Oct. 22). Ulrich earned her own weekly honor (Sept. 20) after posting a career-high 17 kills to lead UND to a 3-1 win over Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 17) to claim the Chilly Fillmore's SFA Invitational title.
"I am extremely proud of not only our award winners tonight, but of our team as a whole," Hardee said. "Now the focus is on getting to Saturday's championship match and winning that tournament trophy."
2011 Great West Conference Awards
Great West Conference Co-Coach of the Year
- Kaddie Platt, Houston Baptist
- Sam Atoa, Utah Valley
Great West Conference Player of the Year
- Sarah Clement, Utah Valley
Great West Conference Setter of the Year
- Brookelyn Campbell, Utah Valley
Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Year
- Courtney Whittleman, Houston Baptist
Great West Conference Co-Freshman Player of the Year
All-Great West Conference First Team
- Brookelyn Campbell, Utah Valley
- Sarah Clement, Utah Valley
- Chelsey Heaps, Utah Valley
- Nikki Husfeldt, North Dakota
- Erica Nash, Utah Valley
- Devin Trefz, North Dakota
- Courtney Whittleman, Houston Baptist
All-Great West Conference Second Team
- Jasmine Casey, Houston Baptist
- Isis Gardner, Houston Baptist
- Jaicee Kuresa, Utah Valley
- Lisa Parlich, North Dakota
- Tia Russell, North Dakota
- Annika Smed, North Dakota
- Janet Snell, NJIT
Great West Conference All-Newcomer Team
- Go Sioux -
