The Northern Sun Conference handed out their Volleyball All-Conference Awards today and sophomore Anna Winter is on the All-NSIC Second Team. Winter's honor is the first for Upper Iowa since 2014 and 2015, when Jenny Mundt claimed back-to-back all-conference nods as a junior and senior.
"It's been a great season for Anna and our team," said Head Coach Aaron Nelson. "She's an extremely intelligent individual who really understands the game and plays with a high volleyball IQ. She pays attention to details, never takes a break on the court and is a great teammate. Even though we had a more balanced offense as a team this season, we still relied heavily on her at times - especially in crunch time. For her to be recognized as part of such an elite group of athletes is very special for her and for our program overall."
The All-NSIC Volleyball team is made up of 33 young ladies; 18 named to the first team and 15 to the second team.
Winter leads the Peacock offense with 317 kills, the ninth highest total in the NSIC, and averages 3.23 kills per set, which ranks eleventh in the conference. The sophomore is hitting .258 thanks to only 0.55 errors/set. Winter is fourth in the Northern Sun Conference in total attacks with 1,021. She has also recorded 20 service aces, 128 digs and 48 blocks including 4 solo denials to round out her stat line.
The Rochester, Minn. native reached double-digit kills in 18 of Upper Iowa's 27 matches this fall including six times over 15 kills in a match. Her career highs of 21 and 20 came in the team's victories over No. 20 Wayne State College and #18 Washburn University, respectively. Defensively, Winter got her hands on a career-high 11 digs twice this season including a road win at No. 20 Wayne State and a home sweep of Minot State University. Her career-high in blocks (5) came at No. 15 Winona State University in a five-set loss.
Winter and the Peacock volleyball team have enjoyed their finest season in program history with a 20-7 record overall and an 11-7 mark in the high-powered Northern Sun. The team secured a spot in the NSIC Tournament for the first time in their twelfth season in the conference. Upper Iowa will close out the regular season this Friday and Saturday with NSIC matches at No. 7 Northern State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead.
The quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 15; UIU's opponent and final seed in the tournament has yet to be decided.
