Kate Lange, a senior from the University of Minnesota Duluth, was named the 2014 DII Woman of the Year nominee for volleyball as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

She is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Woman Athlete of the Year honor. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 38th year.

Lange, a native of Hibbing, Minn., was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II National Player of the Year and was also tabbed the Ron Lenz Daktronics National Player of the Year. This is Lange's third consecutive season earning AVCA First-Team All-American honors and third time receiving a Daktronics All-American selection.

On the court, she finished her career with a UMD-record 2,078 kills and 4,854 attacks while also cracking the all-time ranks in solo blocks (second, 108) and digs (ninth, 1,235). She led the nation this season with 5.41 kills and 6.14 points per set.

All sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2014 CWSA Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in June. The sports nominees are recognized in 11 DII and DIII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer,softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 37 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $2.7 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.