Koster nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The University of Dallas nominated Jessie Koster (Sherwood, Ore.) for 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year, which was released along with all listed nominees on Tuesday. Koster was among 197 female student-athletes to be nominated at the Division III level. Overall there were 544 candidates across NCAA, which is the most ever in the history of the Woman of the Year Program. Nominees averaged a 3.69 grade-point-average. To qualify these student-athletes demonstrated the four pillars of Woman of the Year Award: academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Koster earned four letters for the Dallas volleyball team. She anchored the backrow her last two seasons and led NCAA Division III in digs-per-set with 6.69 and 7.49 in respective years of 2015 and '16. Each of those marks also set a single-season school record. Koster also broke the single-season record in total digs (854). She ends of Dallas career with the highest all-time totals in digs (2,880) and digs-per-game (6.26).

Koster racked up several postseason awards for her career performance during her senior campaign. This included: American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) West All-Region, SCAC Backrow Player of the Year, All-SCAC Second Team, and United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) All-American. She was voted MVP by her teammates in 2013, '15, and '16.

In the classroom, Koster got the job done with recognitions for CoSIDA Academic All-American and USCAA National All-Academic Team. It was her second time winning the latter honor in her career, with the other being her sophomore year. She earned spots on the SCAC Fall Student-Athlete Academic Honor roll all four years. Last spring, it was announced that Koster was awarded a scholarship from NCAA for any part-time or full-time postgraduate study at a University or professional school from the NCAA.

In addition, Koster was one-of-seven finalists for the SCAC Woman of the Year presented last Friday. The winner is expected to be announced soon. 

To see the complete list of nominees, click here.