MORAGA, Calif. – Newly graduated Lindsey Knudsen was recently nominated for the prestigious, NCAA Woman of the Year award after an inspiring final season of collegiate volleyball.

The Woman of the Year program was created in 1991 and it celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across all three divisions who distinguish themselves through their academic achievement, campus leadership, athletics excellence, and community service.

In her senior indoor season, Knudsen posted a number of impressive stats including a couple of career milestones: she collected both her 1,000th career kill (2.77 kills per set this season) and her 1,000th career dig (2.61 digs per set) this year. Knudsen was also tied for first with the most aces in any four set conference match (6) in the WCC last season and was second on the team in total service aces (34). She is also in the Gael record books as she is tied for eighth in total number of kills in four sets (21) which she achieved during her first year at SMC. Knudsen set three season-highs in this year's match against San Francisco (Sept. 25) when she collected 26.5 points, six aces, and 20 digs.

Knudsen set herself apart with her academic achievements during her time as a Gael and graduated with a cumulative 3.982 GPA and a 4.0 GPA within her major (Economics). She made the WCC All-Academic Team during the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons. Knudsen was also named to the WCC All-Academic Team for beach volleyball in 2016, 2017, and 2018. She was awarded the Presidential Scholar Athlete Award during all four years at Saint Mary's and was also inducted into the Omicron Delta Epsilon National Economics Honors Society.

Knudsen was also an active member of her community as she was a Sunday school teacher at her church from 2015 through 2017. She began and participated in a tutoring program through her church that serviced the Oakland youth. Knudsen coached a number of free volleyball clinics with her SMC team as well, and repeatedly visited retirement homes and elementary schools. She also earned the Lasallian Service Internship in 2019 as she served at the CasArcoba in Scampia, Italy.

Knudsen was efficient during the beach season as well in 2019 as she went 24-5 in the No. 1 spot for SMC and defeated 7 ranked opponents: Stanford (3 times), No. 12 Cal, No. 13 LMU, and No. 14 LMU (2 Times). This was her fourth-consecutive All-WCC selection (all on the First Team). Knudsen's accolade-laden career also includes a WCC Freshman of the Year Award in 2016 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.

A record-breaking, 585 people were nominated this year for the award and the next step will include the conference selecting nominees who will be notified in early August. Then, the NCAA will choose the top 10 nominees from each division (30 altogether), then there will be 3 finalists in each division (nine altogether), then the winner will be announced on October 20 at an awards dinner in Indianapolis.

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