Three Northland Pines volleyball players were selected to the Great Northern Conference all-conference team after the Eagles had an improved season from the 2024 campaign.
Head Coach Julie Smith returned for another year at the helm and received co-conference Coach of the Year honors for her efforts.
Senior Bella Nowak was a second-team setter for the second straight season.
Sophomore Eden Smith was named to the second team, and Kami Neff received honorable mention.
Northland Pines did not win a GNC game during the 2024-2025 season, when they finished 0-12.
Instead of following through with plans to retire after that season, Coach Smith returned to try and get things back on track. She had a large group of letterwinners returning and stressed team chemistry to them.
Things were still kind of rough for a little while, but the Eagles started playing “with each other, for each other.”
They won a quadrangular at home, captured an invitational, and used that momentum to improve their record inside the conference. They finished with an overall record of 23-14, 5-4 in the GNC.
Pines beat Colby 3-1 in the regional quarterfinals before their season ended with a 3-0 loss to Stratford in the semifinal.
When the all-conference team was chosen recently, the Eagles were very well represented.
“I was definitely hoping for some conference honors, but you never know what to expect,” said Nowak after receiving second-team honors. “I was working toward first team all summer.”
Nowak had impressive stats this season, including 489 assists on the year. But the icing on the cake was when she exceeded 1,000 career assists earlier this season. Nowak credits much of her success to Coach Smith.
“She is so amazing. She’s so strong,” she stated. “She played for Madison and Eau Claire. She brought in her Big Ten ring to give us some motivation. She means so much to us. I am glad she came back this season for my last year.”
Eden Smith dominated the back line for Pines. Her stats included 536 digs as the Libero.
“I love defense and I want to get everything, every single ball,” explained Smith.
Junior Kami Neff filled up the stat sheet with a team-leading 253 kills. She also finished the year with 360 digs.
“There’s a lot of motivation because of how much coach wants you to get better,” said Neff.
The Northland Pines volleyball team should have another good group of letter winners back next season.
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