Regardless of how four-time defending NCAA Division II champion Concordia-St. Paul fares in this week's national tournament, former Tiger star Katie Habeck has had a brilliant freshman season for the Golden Bears.
For openers, the ex-Tiger led the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) champions in blocks with 111 and ranked third in kills with 249.
For her efforts, she was named the NSIC Freshman of the Year and landed a berth on the all-conference team.
After the Golden Bears steamrolled through the Central Region tournament in Nebraska two weeks ago, Habeck added to her personal trophy case by making the All-Region team and being named the region's Freshman of the Year.
This week the news got even better when the American Volleyball Coaches Association chose Habeck as its national Freshman of the Year and named her a second-team Division II all-American.
Habeck and the third-ranked Golden Bears hope to add another line to their already impressive list of 2011 achievements when they open defense of their national title against sixth-ranked Central Missouri Thursday afternoon in San Bernardino, California.
