University of Minnesota Duluth volleyball player, Callie Zwettler was named to the 2003 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Second-Team, AVCA officials announced today.
Zwettler, an native of Madison, Wis., adds All-American to a growing list of awards after a stellar junior campaign. She has already been named to First-Team All-North Central Region and to the College Sports Information Directors of America's (CoSIDA) Region V All-Academic third-team as well as finding a spot on the North Sun Intercolegiate Conference's All-Conference team. The outside hitter also garnered the 2003 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Year award after a season in which she led the conference in kills (4.70) and services aces per game (0.67). The three-time All-NSIC selection also ranked among the leagues best in hitting percentage (.243) and digs per game (3.31). She led UMD in kills (489), attempts (1296), kills per game (4.57), and service aces (61) while finishing third on the team in digs (345). Earlier this season, she became just the tenth player in the history of the UMD volleyball program to surpass the 1,000-kill mark. She now ranks as the sixth most proficient hitter in Bulldogs' history with 1,209 career kills.
The appointment of a UMD volleyball player to the 2003 All-American Team marks just the third in the 27-year history of the Bulldogs' volleyball program. Zwettler follows Jodi (Jost) Raser (1996) and Becky (Hoffman) Kukowski (2002) as the only UMD volleyball players to recieve the honor. Zwettler is first junior to land on the team.
After earning spots on the 2003 AVCA All-Region Team, UMD senior Crystal Nucech (Green Bay, Wis.) and junior Gretta Iisakka (Andover, Minn.) were named to the AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Team.
The Bulldogs wrapped up their season Nov. 20 with a North Central Region first-round loss to the University of North Dakota. UMD finished the season with an overall record of 26-5 and a 13-3 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
