2016 MIAC VOLLEYBALL AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the third time in a four-season span, Augsburg College's Jane Becker was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year, as five of her conference regular-season champion Auggies earned MIAC postseason honors, it was announced on Wednesday.

Auggie libero Macey Terhell (SO, Osceola, Wis.) was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, and joined teammates Jaelyn Arndt (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./Washburn HS), Courtney Lemke (SR, Brownton, Minn./Glencoe-Silver Lake HS) and Taylor Linn (JR, Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) in earning All-MIAC honors. DeeDee Maier (SR, Middleton, Wis.) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.

Terhell is the first Auggie to ever earn an MIAC volleyball individual postseason award (MIAC records individual awards since 1990, and has awarded Defensive Player of the Year honors since 2001). It's the second All-MIAC honor for Lemke, who previously earned All-MIAC, all-region and All-America honorable-mention honors in 2014. It's the first conference honors for Terhell, Arndt, Linn and Maier.

In her seventh season as Augsburg's head coach, Becker has led the Auggies to unprecedented heights, claiming the school's first three MIAC regular-season championships in volleyball. The Auggies shared regular-season title honors in 2013 and 2014, but won the outright title for the first time this season, also achieving the Auggies' first-ever unbeaten season (11-0) in MIAC volleyball play. Becker was named MIAC Coach of the Year and AVCA Central Region Coach of the Year in both 2013 and 2014, and also earned Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2009 when she was coaching at Luther College (Iowa).

The Auggies finished 18-9 overall and 11-0 in MIAC play during the 2016 regular season, earning a first-round bye in the six-team MIAC postseason playoffs. Augsburg will host Bethel in a MIAC semifinal match on Thursday (11/3) at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. The Auggies have earned a conference playoff berth for the fifth time in program history, their fourth under Becker. In seven seasons at Augsburg, Becker is now 137-67, and including her prior three years as head coach at Luther, she is 197-109 in her coaching career.

In her second season as Augsburg's starting libero (defensive specialist), Terhell has had another outstanding campaign, collecting 583 digs (5.77 per-set), both totals second-best among MIAC players in overall statistics. In MIAC matches-only, Terhell led the league with a 6.65 digs per-set average, while standing second with 266 overall digs. She has also added 57 assists and 24 service aces on the season, while recording a .938 service reception percentage.

In her two seasons at Augsburg (55 matches, 207 sets), Terhell now has 1,111 career assists, with her 5.37 career digs per-set average currently tops in program history. She also has 55 service aces and 86 assists, while compiling a .929 service reception percentage.

Despite missing four matches early in the season due to injury, Lemke again shined as Augsburg's primary setter, with her team shifting to a 5-1 alignment since the halfway point of the 2016 campaign. She recorded 20-plus assists in 21 of her 23 matches this season, including 30-plus assists in her last 12 matches in a row. She is also a strong passer, with 12 assist-dig double-doubles this year. Her 740 assists rank fourth among MIAC players in overall statistics, while her 8.81 assists per-set are third-best. In MIAC play, she ranked third in both assists (401) and assists per-set (10.03).

In her career (88 matches, 295 sets), Lemke now has 2,660 assists, ranking fourth in school history in the category. Her 9.02 career assists per-set is third in school history, and she has also added 726 digs (2.46 per-set), 91 kills, 33 blocks (five solo) and 51 service aces.

A middle blocker, Linn has had a breakthrough season in 2016, leading the team with 291 kills (2.88 per-set) and 77 blocks (five solo, 0.76 per-set), while hitting .215 and adding 250 digs (2.48 per-set), 21 service aces and 20 assists. She recorded double-digit kill totals in 17 matches, while also claiming five kill-dig double-doubles. She's also had three-plus blocks in 15 matches this season. Her 291 kills are fifth-most among MIAC players in overall statistics, while her 2.88 kills per-set are seventh-best, her 77 blocks are sixth-best, her 0.76 blocks per-set are eighth-best, her 353.0 points are sixth-best and 3.5 points per-set are fifth-best.

In her 82 career matches (289 sets) over the past three seasons, Linn has 569 kills (1.97 per-set), 203 blocks (19 solo, 0.70 per-set), 426 digs (1.47 per-set), 42 service aces and 39 assists. Her 184 block assists are sixth-most in school history, while her 0.70 blocks per-set average is 10th-best.

An outside hitter, Arndt has also had a career-best campaign for the Auggies in 2016, standing second on the team with 276 kills (2.85 per-set), with a .212 attack percentage, 52 blocks (12 solo, 0.54 per-set) and 58 digs (0.60 per-set). She has recorded double-digit kill totals in 14 matches, while recording three-plus blocks in 10 matches. Her 276 kills and 2.85 kills per-set average are both 10th-best among MIAC players in overall statistics, while in MIAC matches-only, her 130 kills and 3.25 kills per-set average were both sixth-best.

In her four-year career (96 matches, 302 sets), Arndt has 626 kills (2.07 per-set) and 137 blocks (30 solo, 0.45 per-set), to go along with 165 digs and 13 assists. 

Maier was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team, as part of the conference's sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

Primarily a defensive specialist in her first three seasons, Maier became a full-rotation player this season, contributing 186 kills (1.96 per-set) and 21 blocks (eight solo, 0.22 per-set), to go along with 290 digs (3.05 per-set) and 25 service aces (0.26 per-set). In her four seasons (91 matches, 313 sets), Maier has 238 kills (0.76 per-set), 868 digs (2.77 per-set), 94 service aces (0.30 per-set), 45 assists and 25 blocks (nine solo, 0.08 per-set).