Nieszala, Huppert named to AVCA All-Great Lakes Region Volleyball Team; Wade named Region Freshman of the Year
By Tim Glon
ADA — Ohio Northern libero Megan Nieszala (Lambertville, Mich./St. Marys Catholic Central) and sophomore Chelsea Huppert (Bremen, Ind.) were named First Team All-Great Lakes Region and freshman setter Katie Wade (Battle Creek, Mich./Harper Creek) was named the Great Lakes Region Freshman of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association for 2017.
Nieszala is a repeat selection on the All-Region squad, as she earned the honor as a junior in 2016.
Nieszala and Huppert were also named First Team All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Wade was a Second Team All-OAC pick and was the OAC Freshman of the Year earlier this week.
The Polar Bears (27-5 overall) are ranked No. 20 nationally by the AVCA and will play DePauw (Ind.) in the First Round of the NCAA III Tournament on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Otterbein.
Nieszala leads the team and is second in the OAC with 557 digs this season, which ranks her fifth on ONU's single-season list for a senior.
She currently ranks fourth all-time at ONU with 1,833 career digs.
Nieszala is now a three-time All-OAC pick, a two-time All-Region pick, an Honorable Mention All-American and was the OAC Libero of the Year in 2016.
Huppert leads the OAC with an ONU sophomore record 121 blocks, is second in the OAC with 370 kills and is third in the OAC with a .333 hitting percentage this season.
She currently ranks 10th all-time at ONU with 67 block solos and her .338 career hitting percentage is third-best in ONU history.
Wade ranks fifth in the country and second in the OAC with an average of 11.07 assists per game. Her 1,051 assists this season is the second-best for an ONU freshman in school history.
Nieszala and Huppert are now on the ballot for AVCA All-America honors. That team will be announced at a later date.