ST PAUL, Minn. - Concordia University's Maggie McNamara has been named the NFinity/AVCA Division II Player of the Year for the second straight year, as announced tonight at the NCAA Championships banquet.  This is the highest honor awarded each year for a volleyball player, as voted on by Division II committee members and head coaches.  Maggie has led the NCAA in assists each of her four collegiate seasons and became the all-time assists leader earlier this season.  She is leading her Golden Bears down the final stretch of the postseason in an attempt to three-peat as National Champions.

McNamara (Zumbrota, Minn.) has had an illustrious career as the headline setter for the Concordia University volleyball team.  She came into the program in 2006 and overtook the role as a starting setter and led the team to the Central Region Tournament championship match.  She began filling her shelves with awards that season, being named the AVCA DII Freshman of the Year and a Second Team All-American.

McNamara has only grown from that first season, improving her accuracy for the team's mighty hitters and providing the court with a calming influence.  She is now a rare four-time All-American, making the First Team in each of the past three seasons, including this year.  McNamara has brought the Golden Bears to three Central Region Championships and a set of National Championship titles. 

In her senior year of competition, McNamara sealed her named in the NCAA record book as the all-time leading setter, putting up a new record for career assists.  She has a current mark of 7,217 assists with the potential to add three more matches worth of statistics to her total.  For the fourth season in her career, McNamara leads the nation in assists per set, this year with a mark of 13.24.

Behind her handiwork, the Golden Bears lead the nation in kills per set and are second for hitting average.  Ranked #1 nationally all season, they look to claim a third straight NCAA trophy this weekend, hosting the Elite Eight at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.  The team's quarterfinal match is Thursday night at 7:30 pm against #9 University of Indianapolis.

McNamara has also been a huge defensive asset to Concordia over the years.  She cleared the 1,000 dig mark last season and sits with 1,273 career digs, 7th best in CU history.  She also ranks 10th for blocks (229) and 3rd for service aces (138) at Concordia.  The Golden Bears have gone 143-8 since McNamara arrived on campus.