Northwestern University Athletics
Caroline Niedospial Named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON -- Northwestern libero Caroline Niedospial received All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition Tuesday when the conference announced its end-of-season awards. It is the first such honor for the redshirt junior from Evergreen Park, Ill., native.
Niedospial turned in one of the top defensive performances in recent Northwestern history this fall. She finished the regular season ranked overall second in the Big Ten with 4.72 digs per set and second in conference matches only with 4.83. Her cumulative total of 548 ranked as the fifth-highest single-season output in program history and it gives Niedospial two of the top five spots on that list after she also dug 553 attacks in 2013.
On Oct. 5, Niedospial eclipsed 1,000 career digs during Northwestern's match at Penn State. She finished the season with 1,289, putting her currently in eighth place on the program's all-time list in that category.
Niedospial recorded double-digit digs in 28 of 31 matches for the Wildcats and on 12 occasions, she tallied 21-or-more. Her career high came in a memorable match against the Purdue Boilermakers at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Oct. 24. The Marist H.S. graduate posted an eye-popping 34 digs in the five-set contest, making her the only Big Ten player to eclipse the 30-dig plateau at any point this season. It tied her for fourth place in the 'Cats' single-match record book and it was the most since Oct. 17, 2008 when Kate Nobilio tallied 34 vs. Illinois.
The redshirt junior was recognized as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15 after a particularly strong showing during the Wildcat Classic. Niedospial claimed tournament MVP honors during the previous weekend after helping the Wildcats defeat Youngstown State, Loyola and Virginia. She posted 26 digs in a three-set win over the Cavaliers in the finale, which was the second highest three-set total in Northwestern history.
Sophomore setter Caleigh Ryan was also recognized by the Big Ten as one of 14 recipients of the Sportsmanship Award. The Glen Ellyn, Ill., native appeared in 58 sets and averaged 6.84 assists and 1.57 digs per set. After playing in all but one match as a true freshman in 2013, Ryan broke back into the lineup on a more regular basis Oct. 24 against Purdue when the setter joined forces with freshman Taylor Tashima to help the Wildcats implement a 6-2 offensive system.
Northwestern finished the 2014 season on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Maryland. The Wildcats won 16 matches for the fourth consecutive season this fall.
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