BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced on Thursday that Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball players
Angela Young and
Meg Schmidt were both named first team All-NSIC, while
Payton Hjerleid was named second team All-NSIC.
The all-conference awards are voted upon by the league's head coaches.
Young, a senior outside hitter from Conde, S.D., leads SMSU with 403 kills, while recording a .263 hitting percentage. She also ranks second on the team with 204 digs, fourth in blocks with 44, and is fifth with 19 service aces. In NSIC play, Young ranks second in kills per set (4.35) and second in points per set (4.82).
Her signature performance this season came Oct. 22-23 when she earned Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II National Player of the Week honors. Young racked up 43 kills on the weekend for a 6.14 set average, including tying a career-high 26 kills on a .404 hitting percentage while adding 12 digs against No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 23. She began the weekend with 17 kills and seven digs against Minnesota State on Oct. 22.
Schmidt, a junior right-side hitter from Jordan, Minn., has played multiple positions for the Mustangs this season. Schmidt is second on the team in kills (322), points (386.5), and service aces (32), while ranking third in assists (104) and blocks (62). She is currently ranked 10
th in conference play in points per set and 11
th in kills per set. Schmidt has reached double figures in kills 19 times this season and is one of three players in the NSIC to record a triple-double.
Hjerleid, a senior libero from Mallard, Iowa, leads the team with 389 digs, is second in aces with 32, and is fourth in assists with 104. Her 289 digs in league play ranks fourth in the NSIC and her 4.25 digs per set ranks sixth.
Southwest Minnesota State (19-7, 11-7 NSIC), ranked No. 17 in this week's AVCA Top 25 poll, close out the regular season with a pair of home games against Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. The Mustangs face Minnesota Crookston for Senior Night on Friday at 6 p.m. before taking on Bemidji State for Parents' Day on Saturday at 2 p.m. SMSU will secure a spot in the eight-team NSIC Tournament with a pair of victories this weekend.
