December 10

The Northland College Volleyball team held their end of the season banquet on Sunday, December 9^th at the Alvord Theater in the Ponzio Campus Center to celebrate their successful 2007 season. Joining the team were many family members who traveled several hours to be a part of the event.

Following a meal, Coach Shelly Roiger recognized the accomplishments of both the team as well as individual awards that were earned.

Captains Carrie Canfield (Florence, WI) and Melissa Anderson (Brooklyn Park, MN) were thanked for their leadership throughout the season while freshmen Laura Fisher (Green Bay, WI) and Sarah Hank (LeSueur, MN) were congratulated for their All-Tournament awards which were announced earlier in the year. Fisher was named to the Pikes Peak All-Tournament team at Colorado College to open the season while Hank earned back-to-back honors in September for her level of play during both the Augsburg College Invitational as well as the UW-Superior/St. Scholastica Bridge Tournament.

Also honored were sophomore Melissa Anderson and freshman Courtney Kinney (Ashland, WI) for their UMAC Player of the Week awards for the Week of October 15-20. Anderson was named as the Hitter of the Week for her accomplishments as an outside hitter and Kinney was named as the Setter of the Week. During this stretch, the two players led the LumberJills as the team went 4-0 with all four victories coming on the road.

The LumberJills then congratulated their four All-Conference award winners. Hank and Kinney were the only freshmen in the UMAC to earn First Team All-Conference recognition while sophomores Melissa Anderson and Chelsea Lundgren (Crosby, MN) were named Honorable Mention. The four honorees marks the most number of volleyball players to be named All-Conference for the LumberJills since Northland entered the UMAC in 1998.

Finally, the team awards were handed out. Three awards were given to players to recognize their individual contributions to the season. The following people were honored:

Most Improved Player: Carli Solloway (Glenburn, ND). Carli is someone who improved the most due to her great attitude. She came into the season planning to play one position and due to team necessities was shifted to another position. She continued to work on her game and even though she provided little stats in the box scores, she improved the quality of the team practices by raising her own individual standards.

Most Valuable Player: Melissa Anderson. Melissa is someone who contributed in every area that exists. She stepped into a leadership role and both on the court and off provided great things for the team. When the team was struggling, she was the one who would step up and get things done-sometimes through her actions and sometimes through her encouragement. She finished the season with a team-leading 415 kills, ranked 2^nd on the team in digs, and served 12 straight points for NC during the semifinal playoff match against Northwestern. This marks the second season that Anderson has been named MVP.

Queen of Character: Carli Solloway. Carli is someone who came to practice each and everyday with a smile on her face. Her constant upbeat attitude was invaluable to the team and she was someone who accepted her role as only a team player can. You could always hear her cheering on her teammates no matter what the situation and the support she provided her teammates was relentless.

Following the awards, a highlight tape of the season was shown and a final team photo was taken with their UMAC Playoff Championship plaque. The LumberJills finished the season 18-17 and defeated #1 seed Northwestern College in the first round and then came from behind to defeat #2 seed Bethany Lutheran College to claim the UMAC Tournament Championship.