AUSTIN, Texas – The 2018 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Volleyball Teams were announced Wednesday morning and Gustavus senior setter Nora Holtan (Rochester, Minn.) has been named to the seven-member Second Team. The CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
Nora Holtan
This marks Holtan’s second appearance on the Academic All-America Team after earning Second Team honors last year.
Holtan, an exercise physiology and psychological science double major with a 3.87 GPA, was recently named AVCA First-Team All-America for the third consecutive year after also being awarded MIAC Player of the Year for the third time. Holtan, the most decorated student-athlete in 50 years of Gustavus volleyball, finished her career as the program’s all-time assists leader with 4,528 during her four seasons. She also ended her career with 1,194 digs (7th/program history) and 650 kills (32nd/program history). Holtan is the only player to wear the Black and Gold with at least 4,000 assists, 1,000 digs, and 500 kills. Holtan started all 30 matches and played all 113 sets throughout the year. The Rochester Mayo product averaged 10.16 assists and 2.5 digs per set. She also totaled 169 kills and posted a .283 hitting percentage. Her 31 aces were fourth most on a strong serving team.
During her senior season, Holtan led the Gusties to their second MIAC regular season championship and third MIAC playoff title in the past four years, as well as their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Over her four seasons, Holtan, a four-time All-Conference honoree, played a large part in the Gusties posting a 104-21 overall record and a 39-5 mark in the MIAC.
Holtan earns the 111th all-time CoSIDA Academic All-America award in Gustavus Athletics history and is the only one to be honored as a volleyball student-athlete. Gustavus has the 12th most Academic All-Americans in NCAA Division III history and the most in the MIAC. Head Baseball Coach Brad Baker ’80 earned the College’s first Academic All-America award in 1979. Holtan is also the 19th Gustavus student-athlete to earn two Academic All-America honors.