LEXINGTON, Ky. – Alysen Dexter (Urbandale, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) caps off her stellar freshman campaign, being named Freshman of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), the organization announced this morning. It marks the first-ever national Freshman of the Year honor in Northwestern volleyball history.
“What a great honor for Alysen to be the National Freshman of the Year! When the team does well then individuals get recognized,” noted head coach Kyle Van Den Bosch. “Alysen had a really solid freshman season that ended with a great national tournament for her and the team!”
The freshman stepped on campus and immediately led the team in kills this season with 417 from her outside hitter position, which breaks down to 3.63 kills per set in the 115 sets played on the year. She hit at a clip of .224 out of her 1,100+ attempts on the season, which sat third on the team (minimum 100 attempts).
Behind the service line, she notched 27 service aces which was fourth-best on the team, while sitting second-best with 278 digs on the year (2.42 digs/set).
Not only did she attack well and make her presence felt on defense, opponents also had to worry about her at the net. She notched 53 blocks on the season with a majority of them being block assists, as only one was recorded solo.
Dexter joins two former Raiders to earn major awards by either the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) or the AVCA. Amy (Jeltema) Schutt was a two-time NAIA National Player of the Year (1992, 1994), and most recently Anna Wedel was named the National Player of the Year in 2019.
