Burlington C. grad Holthus named All-America
Northwestern University junior outside hitter Stephanie Holthus, a Burlington Central graduate, been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Third Team. Holthus becomes the fourth student-athlete in program history to receive a national All-America accolade.
“Stephanie is very deserving of this honor,” said NU coach Keylor Chan. “She has put a great deal of time and effort to improve her volleyball every year, and is committed to success.
“She is a great example of what it means to be a student-athlete at Northwestern,” said Chan. “We are very proud of Stephanie for being a tremendous role model in our program and we are extremely excited to have her around for another year.”
Holthus, an All-Mideast Region honoree, led the Wildcats with 487 kills in 2012, which ties for the fifth-best output in single-season NU history. The two-time Daily Herald Fox Valley all-area captain’s clip of 4.87 kills per set left her tied for third in program annals. Holthus led Northwestern with 18 double-double performances and she recorded at least 20 kills in a match on 10 occasions during the season.
The two-time All-Big Ten performer achieved a pair of significant milestones during the 2012 campaign. Holthus collected the 1,000th kill of her career during the opening weekend of Big Ten play against Minnesota, becoming the 20th player in Northwestern history to accomplish the feat. Through the course of the season Holthus rose steadily on NU’s all-time list and concluded the season in 10th place with 1,294 kills.
Holthus also made her presence felt in the back row for the Wildcats this season. She ranked second on the team with 347 digs this year and during the season finale against Nebraska, Holthus notched the 1,000th dig of her career, becoming the 15th player in Northwestern history to do so. She finished the season with 1,003 career digs.
Holthus is NU’s first all-American since her former teammate, Sabel Moffett, was named to the second team in 2010. Prior to Moffett, Madelyn Meneghetti was named a second team CVCA all-American in 1984 and Patty Walsh was tabbed as an AIAW all-American in 1980 and 1983.