For Immediate Release
Monday, September 15, 2025
NSIC Media Relations
Media Packet

NSIC Offensive Player of the Week
#7 Abby Brooks (MH, 6-2, Gr., Madison, S.D. / Madison HS) – Northern State 
- Led Northern State with 55 kills, averaging 4.23 per set in their 4-0 weekend
- Hit a team best .463, including a weekend high .571 against Lake Superior State
- Added a team leading 18 blocks, averaging 1.38 per set, second best in the NSIC last week
- Was top four in both hitting percentage and kills per set in the NSIC last week
- Tallied six digs and one assist
- Ranks third in the league in hitting percentage and leads the NSIC in blocks per set
- Named to the Maverick Invite All-Tournament team

NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
#8 Maya Wente (MB, 6-1, Sr., Canby, Minn. / Canby HS)  - Augustana
- Named to the Tiger Classic All-Tournament Team
- Finished the weekend with 24 blocks (1.41 bps), the most in the NSIC
- Also led the NSIC with six solo blocks
- Recorded at least four blocks in each match
- Had two seven-block games and a six-block performance
- Finished the weekend with 61 kills, the second most in the NSIC 
- Tied an NSIC-best with 76 total points last week

NSIC Setter of the Week
#4 Sydney Thein (S, 5-9, So., Clara City, Minn. / MACCRAY HS) - SMSU
-Tallied 142 assists in the Mustangs’ 3-0 weekend at the Pitt State Classic
- Averaged an NSIC best 12.91 assists per set
- Led SMSU to a .278 team hitting percentage, third best in the NSIC last week
- Had 57 assists in a five-set win against tournament hosts Pitt State
- Currently No. 3 in DII with 12.16 assists per set
- Added 35 digs on the weekend, with 18 coming against Pitt State

Others Under Consideration
OFFENSE
Makenna Nold (Concordia-St. Paul)
- Led the Golden Bear offense with 65 kills in a 2-2 weekend at the Colorado Premier Challenge
- Averaged 4.64 kills per set and 5.43 points per set
- Recorded a .234 hitting percentage
- Had 22 kills and nine digs against Missouri Western
- Logged 20 kills and 4 digs in a win over No. 2 Angelo State
- Finished with 13 kills and 6 digs in a sweep of No. 5 West Texas A&M
Kylie Broten (Minnesota Duluth)
- Hit .410 with a team-best 32 kills and added a team-high 15 total blocks
- Currently leads the league with a .500 hitting percentage on the season
- Tallied a career-high 15 kills and nine blocks in the win over Michigan Tech
- Hit .476 with 12 kills and four total blocks against Northern Michigan
Avery Klein (Minnesota State)
- Averaged 4.12 points per set and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the Maverick Invite
- Recorded a career-high 26.5 points against Quincy
- Had a career-best five blocks and four service aces in the victory
- Had nine service aces on the week
Natalie Pilney (Southwest Minnesota State)
- Had 36 kills in a 3-0 weekend for the Mustangs in the Pitt State Classic
- Hit .492 in those three games combined
- Double digit kills in all three games
- Had 11 kills while hitting .471 against Southern Nazarene 
- Added 12 kills, hitting .524 against Maryville 
- Career high 13 kills, hitting .480 with three total blocks against tournament hosts Pitt State
Ella Thompson (St. Cloud State)
- Ranked fifth in kills/set (4.00) and eighth in points/set (4.23) among NSIC players
- Posted the third best attack percentage in a single match with a minimum of 12 kills (.571)
- Tallied 14+ kills in three of four matches and hit .330 for the weekend
- Named to the UP North Tournament All-Tournament Team
- SCSU went 3-1 at the UP North Tournament, recording sweeps in all three victories
Chloe Hanel (Wayne State)
- Named to Colorado Premier Challenge All-Tournament Team
- Averaged 3.29 kills and 0.76 blocks per set with .404 hitting percentage
- Had 18 kills with .485 hitting percentage in Friday's 3-2 win at #3 MSU Denver
- Notched 18 kills with three blocks in 3-1 win vs. Lewis (Ill.)
- Had second-highest hitting percentage among starters at Colorado Premier

DEFENSE
Kailee Waasdorp (Minnesota Crookston)
- Tallied 6.92 digs per set in four matches at the Maverick Invite 
 - Added five service aces
- Had 31 digs in a win Friday over Upper Iowa for 7.75 digs per set
- Had 24 digs versus Chadron State
- Has three 30-plus dig nights this season for Minnesota Crookston
- Surpassed 1,000 digs in a career
Abby Schauer (Northern State)
- Averaged 6.23 digs per set in Northern's 4-0 weekend
- Racked up 81 total digs, including a weekend high 25 against Quincy
- Added seven assists and two aces
- Averaged 7.66 digs per set against Upper Iowa in the invite finale
Madison Reed (Minnesota Duluth)
- Averaged 5.45 digs per set in three wins last week at the Up North Tournament
- Ranks third in the league for the week
- Moved to fourth in league standings with 4.44 digs per set on the season
- Career-high 28 digs and two service aces in UMD's three-set sweep over Northern Michigan
Gianna Vollrath (Winona State)
- Led the team in blocks over the weekend with 19 blocks
- Had a team weekend high a in blocks against Parkside with eight
- Had a block percentage of 0.904 missing only two block attempts all weekend (19/21)

SETTER
Kiylah Franke (Augustana)
- Tiger Classic All-Tournament Team
- Finished the weekend with 188 assists, the most in the NSIC, in a 3-1 weekend for the Vikings
- Recorded a career-best 55 assists in a five-set win over MSU Texas 
- Also had 52 assists in a four-set win against Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Added 36 digs defensively
- Finished fourth in the NSIC with 11.06 assists per set
Ava Nilsson (Northern State)
- Paced Northern State with 151 assists, averaging 12.58 per set in their 4-0 weekend
- Added 21 digs, seven blocks, six aces, and three kills
- Averaged 15.33 assists per set in the win over Upper Iowa
- Tallied five aces in the win over Lake Superior, averaging 2.5 aces per set
Braya LaPlant (St. Cloud State )
- Ranked third in assists/set (12.00) among NSIC setters
- Guided the Huskies offense to a .276 hitting percentage (fourth best in NSIC this week)
- Posted the highest number of assists (48) for a three-set match 
- Was one of nine conference players to record 5+ aces in a single match
- Recorded her first career double-double (34 assists and 10 digs) 
- Added a career high in digs in a tournament-opening sweep of Adelphi
- Named to the UP North Tournament All-Tournament Team
 
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


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.