For Immediate Release
Monday, October 6, 2025
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#3 Makenna Nold (OH/RS, 5-10, So., Jamestown, N.D. / Jamestown HS) – Concordia-St. Paul
- Paced the NSIC in both kills per set (4.83) and points per set (5.83) in a 2-0 week
- Hit .373 with 29 kills and four aces during the week
- Tallied 13 kills, 11 digs, and four blocks to propel CSP to a sweep of No. 9 Wayne State
- Finished with 16 kills, six digs, and four aces in a sweep of Augustana
- Leads the NSIC and ranks fifth in Division II this season with 5.14 points per set

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#11 Ellie Kline (DS/L, 5-4, Sr., Holmen, Wis. / Holmen HS) – Minnesota State
- Averaged 5.04 digs per set, ranking second in the NSIC last week as MSU went 2-0
- Recorded a season-high 30 digs and added five aces in a 3-2 win over No. 12 SMSU
- Totaled 43 digs without committing a receiving error

NSIC Setter of the Week
#9 Ava Nilsson (S, 6-0, R-Fr., Mansfield, S.D. / Warner HS) – Northern State 
- Led the NSIC averaging 12.83 assists per set in the Wolves 2-0 weekend
- Tallied 77 total assists
- Was second on the team with 21 digs, averaging 3.50 per set
- Added two aces and two blocks
- Recorded a weekend high 41 assists against MSUM, averaging 13.67 per set
- Led a Wolves offense that hit an NSIC high .390 over two matches

Others Under Consideration
OFFENSE
Ava Athman (Bemidji State)
- Led the Beavers to two wins over Minot State and UMary
- Hit .404 over the weekend totaling 28 kills and 4.00 k/s
- Hit .323 with 14 kills in the weekend's first match against Minot State
- Hit .500 with 14 kills on 26 attacks and just one error in the Beavers' 3-0 sweep of UMary
- Added four aces on the serve to finish with a team-high 32.5 points
- Added 11 digs defensively
Kylie Broten (Minnesota Duluth)
- Led the Bulldogs with a .528 hitting percentage and a 3.83 kills-per-set average
- Added four total blocks and two assists
- Attack percentage was the second-highest mark in the league over the course of the week
- Hit .520 with a match-high 16 kills Friday night versus UMary
- Hit .545 with seven kills and three total blocks Saturday against Minot State 
- The senior currently ranks third in NCAA Division II in hitting percentage with a .479 mark
Linnea Nesheim (Northern State)
- Led Northern State with 27 kills, averaging 4.50 per set in their 2-0 weekend
- Hit .328 in the two wins, including a weekend high .571 versus MSUM
- Added 12 digs, two blocks, and one service ace

DEFENSE
Kelsey Cooper (Concordia-St. Paul)
- Led the NSIC with an average of 1.50 blocks per set in a 2-0 week for CSP
- Tallied nine total blocks and four digs while adding 13 kills on a .393 hitting clip 
- Led the CSP with 7.0 total blocks and three digs while adding eight kills in a sweep of No. 9 WSC
- Finished with two solo blocks, a dig, and five kills in Concordia's sweep of Augustana
Madison Reed (Minnesota Duluth)
- Led UMD and ranked third in the NSIC with a 5.33 digs-per-set average
- Led the league with a 1.33 service-aces-per set average 
- Led all players with 19 digs and had two service aces in Friday's win over UMary
- Added a career-high six service aces and match-best 13 digs against Minot State
- The six aces tied for the most in a three-set NSIC match this season

SETTER
Ava Jones  (Minnesota Duluth)
- Led UMD with a 10.50 assists-per-set average in sweeps over UMary and Minot State
- Helping the Bulldogs hit .293 over the pair of contests
- Both her assists average and the team's hitting percentage ranked third in the league
- Added five kills, 12 digs and two total blocks in the pair of contests
- Had 43 assists, six digs, two kills and a block assist on Friday night against the Marauders
- Added 21 assists, six digs, three kills, a service ace and a block assist vs. the Beavers 
Braya LaPlant (St. Cloud State )
- Ranked No. 2 in assists/set (10.89) and tied for No. 5 in service aces (0.67) among NSIC players
- Also contributed 2.22 digs/set and 1.44 points/set
- Tallied a 54-assist, 12-dig double-double in Friday’s reverse sweep of No. 12 SMSU 
- Fourth double-double of the season and her 54 assists were her second most in a match this season
- The reverse sweep was the huskies first since November 19, 2019
- Posted 44 assists, eight digs and five aces in a four-set win over Sioux Falls
- Her five aces tied her single match career high
 
NSIC Volleyball Players of the Week
9/8/25
O: #2 Madison Carsten – Minnesota Crookston
D: #6 Kailee Waasdorp  – Minnesota Crookston 
S: #9 Ava Jones – Minnesota Duluth 
9/15/25
O: #7 Abby Brooks – Northern State
D: #8 Maya Wente - Augustana
S: #4 Sydney Thein - SMSU
9/22/25
O: #4 Avery Rosenberg - Minnesota State
D: #3 Makenna Nold - Concordia-St. Paul
S: #10 Jadyn Lester - Minnesota State
9/29/25
O: #4 Chloe Hanel - Wayne State
D: #16 Emily Rohrer - SMSU
S: #14 Braya LaPlant - St. Cloud State
10/6/25
O: #3 Makenna Nold - Concordia-St. Paul
D: #11 Ellie Kline – Minnesota State
S: #9 Ava Nilsson – Northern State

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 122 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.