For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 5, 2026
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Player of the Year
#3 Makenna Nold (OH/RS, 5-10, Jr., Jamestown, N.D. / Jamestown HS) 
Concordia University, St. Paul
- Named NSIC Player of the Year for the second year in a row
- Leads the NSIC with 4.82 points per set in conference play
- Ranks second in the conference with 4.10 kills per set
- Also sits 19th in the NSIC with 0.32 aces
- Leads the Golden Bears with 2.96 digs per set in NSIC play
- Has logged 15 double-doubles and six matches with 20+ kills this season
- Tied the CSP and NSIC single-match record with 34 kills against Jamestown (10/24)
- Tabbed All-NSIC First Team for the third straight season
- Named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week three times (9/8/26, 10/12/26, 10/26/26) 

NSIC Libero of the Year
#14 Ashlynn Schroeder (L, 5-9, So., Eau Claire, Wis. / Eau Claire Memorial) 
Southwest Minnesota State University
- Third in the NSIC in digs per set (4.85) with 417 on the season
- Averaging 5.03 digs per set in NSIC matches
- Double-digit digs in 22 of 25 matches this season
- Had 25 digs in five-set win over Northern State on Oct. 10
- Career-high 27 digs against Concordia-St. Paul on Oct. 31
- Named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season

NSIC Freshman of the Year
#16 Kenzie Kiminski (OH, 6-0, Fr., Floodwood, Minn. / Floodwood HS)
University of Minnesota Duluth
- Averaging 3.03 points, 2.81 kills and 2.21 digs per set in NSIC matches
- Leads all NSIC rookies in points and kills, ranking 21st overall in kills per set and 24th overall in points per set 
- Has 10 or more kills in five of her 15 NSIC matches
- Has three double-doubles in league play and four on the year
- Tallied 20 kills on .425 hitting vs. Sioux Falls on October 24  
- Had a season high 22 kills in season opener against Michigan Tech

NSIC Assistant Coach of the Year
Kim DePew (19th year) 
Wayne State College
- Earned NSIC Assistant Coach of the Year for second straight season
- Coaches All-NSIC First Team setter Molly Romano
- Helped WSC to 18-match win streak and 26-2 record
- Coached Wildcats to three of last four NSIC regular season titles (2022, 2023, 2025)
- Helped WSC win 20+ games in 18 of 19 years on Wildcat bench

NSIC Coach of the Year
Scott Kneifl (22nd year) 
Wayne State College
- Named NSIC Coach of the Year for fifth time (2005, 2009, 2022, 2023)
- Coached Wildcats to 21st 20+ win season in last 22 years
- Led Wayne State to No. 2 AVCA national ranking for eight straight weeks
- Coached program-record six All-NSIC selections
- Has led Wildcats to NSIC regular season titles in three of last four years (2022, 2023, 2025)

NSIC All-Conference Teams

NSIC First Team All-Conference
#	Name	School	Pos	Yr.	Hometown
8	Maya Wente	Augie	MB	Sr.	Canby, Minn.
13	Ava Athman	BSU	RS	Sr.	Sauk Rapids, Minn.
3	Makenna Nold	CSP	RS	Jr.	Jamestown, N.D.
4	Mehlayna Straub	CSP	MB	Sr.	Jordan, Minn.
5	Paige Decker	UMD	MB	Sr.	Rochester, Minn.
17	Madeline Guetzkow	UMD	RS	Sr.	Mayer, Minn.
18	Linnea Nesheim	NSU	OH	R-Jr.	Sioux Falls, S.D.
9	Ava Nilsson	NSU	S	R-Jr.	Mansfield, S.D.
2	Katelyn Schroeder	NSU	OH	So.	Tulare, S.D.
19	Ella Walker	USF	MB	Jr.	Duluth, Minn.
10	Leah Jones	SMSU	OH	Sr.	Marshall, Minn.
14	Ashlynn Schroeder	SMSU	L	So.	Eau Claire, Wis.
20	Shelby Kimm	SCSU	OH	Sr.	North Liberty, Iowa
14	Braya LaPlant	SCSU	S	Jr.	Grand Rapids, Minn.
4	Chloe Hanel	WSC	MB	Jr.	Clarkson, Neb.
5	Delaney Miller	WSC	OH	So.	Ankeny, Iowa
15	Channatee Robles	WSC	OH	Sr.	Norfolk, Neb.
17	Molly Romano	WSC	S	Jr.	Council Bluffs, Iowa
NSIC Second Team All-Conference
#	Name	School	Pos	Yr.	Hometown
7	Madison Tripp	BSU	S	So.	Kaukauna, Wis.
4	Nevaeh Carlson	BSU	OH	So.	Golden Valley, Minn.
15	Kelsey Cooper	CSP	MB	Jr.	St. Croix Falls, Wis.
12	Gracie Adamson	UJ	OH	Sr.	Brookings, S.D.
1	Sophie Ketterling	UJ	L	Sr.	Napoleon, N.D.
19	Charlotte Lempka	UJ	MH	Sr.	Alexandria, Minn.
9	Ava Jones	UMD	S	Jr.	Detroit Lakes, Minn.
16	Kenzie Kiminski	UMD	OH	Fr.	Floodwood, Minn.
2	Avery Klein	MSU	RS	Jr.	New Prague, Minn.
23	Ashley Peltier	SMSU	RS	5th	Taylors Falls, Minn.
3	Natalie Pilney	SMSU	MB	Jr.	St. Michael, Minn.
5	Mollie Rupp	SMSU	RS	So.	Bemidji, Minn.
15	Laurin Hamann	SCSU	L	Jr.	Manitowoc, Wis.
18	Mia Berg	WSC	MB	Sr.	Eureka, Mo.
1	Anna Borner	WSC	L	Jr.	Waterloo, Neb.
11	Abby Ongna	WSU	OPP	Jr.	Marshfield Wis.

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 128 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.