2017 MIAC VOLLEYBALL AWARDS

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second straight year, Macey Terhell (JR, Osceola, Wis.) earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, one of five Augsburg University volleyball players to earn postseason honors from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, it was announced on Wednesday.

Terhell earned All-MIAC volleyball honors, along with fellow Auggies Corrina Evans (FY, Blaine, Minn./Blaine HS), Taylor Linn (SR, Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) and Morgan Malley (JR, Harmony, Minn./Fillmore Central HS). Auggie Jordan Weeding (SR, Greenfield, Minn./Rockford HS) was named to the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.

Linn and Terhell repeated their All-MIAC selections from last season. The duo also earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Central Region and AVCA Division III All-America Honorable Mention honors in 2016. Augsburg and Gustavus each placed a league-best four players on the All-MIAC team.

Terhell, a libero, shared the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honors with Brittany Luethmers of Gustavus, and became the fifth MIAC player to repeat as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Through Tuesday's play, Terhell leads the MIAC's overall statistics in both total digs (602) and digs per-set (5.33). Her 205 digs in MIAC play were third-most among league players, while her 4.88 digs-per-set average in conference play was fifth-best. Among NCAA Division III players nationally, Terhell ranks 18th in total digs. She is one of only two Auggies to have played in all 113 sets so far this season.

In Tuesday's MIAC playoff quarterfinal win at Gustavus, Terhell became Augsburg's all-time career digs leader with 1,739 in 86 matches (324 sets), passing the old mark of 1,718, set by Cassi Van Ausdall (1997-2000). She also has 73 service aces and 183 assists in her three Auggie seasons.

A middle blocker, Linn has developed a reputation as one of the top "six-rotation" (all-around) players in the MIAC. Through Tuesday's play, Linn has accumulated 344 kills (3.16 per-set), hitting .273, while also recording 91 blocks (14 solo, 0.83 per-set), 367 digs (3.37 per-set) and 24 service aces (0.22 per-set). In the MIAC's overall statistics, Linn ranks third in total kills and sixth in kills per-set, third in total blocks and ninth in blocks per-set, third in block assists and sixth in solo blocks, and 10th in digs and 14th in digs per-set. In league matches-only, she ranked seventh in kills (128), 10th in kills per-set (3.12), eighth in total blocks (30) and 13th in blocks per-set (0.73).

This season, Linn recorded double-digit kill totals in 18 of her 29 matches, including 12 kill-dig double-doubles, while also recording three-plus blocks in 17 matches. In her four years at Augsburg (112 matches, 402 sets), Linn has 919 kills (sixth-most in school history), 2.29 kills per-set, a .208 attack percentage, 816 digs (2.03 per-set), 298 blocks (second in school history), 0.74 blocks per-set (tied for eighth in school history), 33 solo blocks, 265 block assists (first in school history) and 66 service aces (0.16 per-set).

In her first season as Augsburg's starting setter, Malley became a solid all-around player, standing second among MIAC setters in both overall assists (1,144) and assists per-set (10.79), while also contributing 316 digs (2.98 per-set), 40 blocks (two solo, 0.38 per-set), 30 service aces (0.28 per-set) and 107 kills (1.01 per-set) at a team-best .279 clip. She also ranked second among MIAC setters with 442 assists (10.52 per-set) in conference matches-only. In NCAA Division III national statistics, she currently ranks eighth nationally in assists per-set and ninth in total assists.

This season, she has recorded 16 assist-dig double-doubles and two rare kill-assist-dig triple-doubles. She has recorded 30-plus assists in 25 of her 28 matches played this season, including 15 40-plus assist matches and four matches with 50-plus assists. In her three seasons (84 matches, 309 sets), Malley now has 1,763 career assists (5.71 per-set), 206 kills (0.67 per-set), 747 digs (2.42 per-set) and 50 blocks (two solo, 0.16 per-set).

Evans made an immediate impact in her first collegiate volleyball team, helping to establish Augsburg as one of the strongest teams in the middle in the MIAC. So far, she has been credited with 107 blocks (10 solo), leading the MIAC's overall statistics in total blocks and block assists, while ranking second in the MIAC with a 0.97 blocks-per-set average. In MIAC matches-only, she ranked third in total blocks (42), block assists (36) and blocks per-set (1.00). Among NCAA Division III players nationally, she ranks 15th in total blocks.

Her 275 kills (2.50 per-set) are third-best on the team, with her .271 attack percentage also third-best. She recorded 10-plus kills in 16 of her 29 matches and three-plus blocks in 19 matches.

Weeding 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.

An outside hitter, Weeding is second on the squad in kills (302, 2.67 per-set), ranking 10th among MIAC players in overall statistics in the category. She has a team-best 32 service aces (0.28 per-set, 11th-best in the MIAC), along with 116 digs (1.03 per-set) and 52 blocks (six solo, 0.46 per-set). In her career (90 matches, 276 sets), Weeding has 588 career kills (2.13 per-set), 114 blocks (20 solo, 0.41 per-set), 192 digs (0.72 per-set) and 35 service aces (0.13 per-set).

Under eighth-year head coach Jane Becker, Augsburg is 19-11 overall (7-4 in MIAC play) and as the No. 6 seed in the MIAC postseason playoffs, will travel to face No. 2-seed Saint Benedict on Thursday (11/2) at 7 p.m. in a playoff semifinal match. The Auggies scored a 3-1 upset win at No. 3-seed and No. 13-ranked Gustavus on Tuesday.

Augsburg has recorded 16-plus wins in each of the last 10 seasons, with six trips to the MIAC postseason playoffs in the span. The Auggies have reached the MIAC playoffs in four of the last five years, with NCAA Division III national tournament bids in both 2013 and 2014.