EVANSTON-- Northwestern middle blocker Katie Dutchman received AVCA All-North Region Honorable Mention recognition Tuesday when the association announced its end-of-season awards. It was the first such honor for the redshirt senior.
Dutchman finished her final season as a Wildcat with a career-high and team-best hitting percentage. Her season clip of .347 ranks 11th in the Big Ten and is the second-best single-season hitting percentage in NU program history, checking in just behind Sabel Moffet's mark of .349 set in 2009. Dutchman notched another spot for herself in the record book with a .249 career hitting percentage, fourth in program history.
The Del Mar, Calif., native came up big against nationally-ranked conference foes this season. Against No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 1, she connected nine times on 12 swings for a season-high .667 hitting percentage. A few days later when No. 18 Minnesota came calling, Dutchman posted 10 kills, three digs, two blocks and an assist in the `Cats upset of the Gophers. Later in the month, against the No. 13 Purdue on Oct. 24, Dutchman buried 12 kills and hit at a match-high clip of .625.
Dutchman also turned in one of her best performances on the defensive side, leading the `Cats and ranking 15th in conference with 1.03 blocks per set, her highest season average since her debut during the 2011 season. She turned in a season-best performance with 10 total blocks, just one short of matching her career-high, against Michigan on Oct. 31.
One of the `Cats most consistent and efficient players this fall, Dutchman appeared in all 116 sets and hit .500 or better 10 times. She stuffed five or more blocks in 12 different matches and put away at least eight kills in 18 different matches this season.
Northwestern finished the 2014 season on Saturday, Nov. 29 at Maryland. The Wildcats won 16 matches for the fourth consecutive season this fall.
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