Northwestern University Athletics
Lange Named To 2003 All-Big Ten Team
12/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 2, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern senior middle blocker Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) has earned All-Big Ten honors for the second consecutive year, as voted by the conference's volleyball head coaches. Lange was one of 12 conference athletes to earn the honor.
Lange was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team, earned honorable mention honors as a sophomore and was a pre-season All-Big Ten mention each of the last three seasons prior to her first team honors.
"Every year the All-Big Ten team not only recognizes the top performers in the conference, but also represents some of the best players in the nation," said head coach Keylor Chan. "The All-Big Ten team is an elite and exclusive bunch, so to have Erika represent Northwestern is an honor."
This season, Lange ranks first in the Big Ten in blocks per game in conference matches with 1.48. 2003 marks the third consecutive season as the Big Ten's leading blocker for Lange and across all matches, she is fourth in hitting percentage (.334), seventh in kills per game (4.04) and third in blocks per game (1.38).
In 2003, Lange earned AVCA National Player of the Week honors (9/8/03), was the Big Ten Player of the Week (9/8/03) and became one of 5 players in Big Ten to collect over 1,500 kills and 500 blocks in a career. Lange is also fourth in Big Ten history with 642 total blocks.
This season Lange also became Northwestern's all-time career leader in blocks with 642 stuffs. She owns the Wildcat record for career block assists with 532 and moved into 2nd place on the NU career kills chart with 1,607 and needs 60 more to break the all-time record. Lange also owns Northwestern's all-time career kills per game record with 3.72 kpg as well as the career hitting percentage record with a .306 clip (1,607-593-3313).
"Erika's selection is both a reflection of her outstanding performance all season long and the great play of her teammates - the passers, setters, and defenders - who have help put her in this great position," said Chan. "For the second year in a row it's a great honor for her and Northwestern Volleyball."
At 18-14 overall, the Wildcats earned their second consecutive NCAA tournament berth, as was announced Sunday. Lange and the 'Cats will take on Washington in the opening round of the tournament Friday in Seattle. Match time is set for 7 p.m. PST.
