Junior Carlin Smith, a native of Brea, CA, was named the Most Valuable Player for the 2003 University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanook volleyball team at a special awards banquet. The Nanooks finished the season with a 13-10 overall record and a 10-8 mark in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Smith, who battled through injuries late in the season, closed out the year fourth on the team in kills with 149 and a per-game average of 2.07. She also had 17 service aces and finished second on the team in blocks with 68. Smith, an All-GNAC honorable mention honoree, also won the Best Defense Award.
Fellow junior Mallory Bergstrom picked up two awards. Bergstrom, a native of Bend, OR, earned the Best Offense Award and the team's Most Outstanding Player Award. And there's little wonder why Bergstrom was so honored. She finished the year with 425 kills and a 4.72 kills per game average. She had 360 digs for an average of 4.0 each game and 47 total blocks.
Bergstrom's accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed on the national level. The hard-hitting player was named GNAC Player of the Week on three different occasions as well as earning first-team All-GNAC honors. She was also named first-team All-Pacific Region and honorable-mention All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Senior Candice Smith, closing out her career as only the second player in UAF history to experience four consecutive winning seasons as a Nanook, was given the Most Improved Award and the ACE-Student Award. She led the team in blocks with 81 total stops as well as finishing third in kills (189) and third in digs (229). Smith, a native of Mt. Lehman, BC, was also named to the 2003 GNAC All-Academic Team.
Danielle Hitzeman, the biggest surprise of the season for UAF mentor Phil Shoemaker, earned or shared three different team awards. The 2003 GNAC Freshman of the Year and April Blandford were given the Miss Fit Award, while Hitzeman also earned the 2003 Newcomer of the Year Award as well as being named the team's Best All-Around Player. Hitzeman averaged over 3.5 kills per game and 3.1 digs per contest.
Other awards given at the 2003 volleyball banquet included: Unsung Hero - Jessica Clemons; Head Coach Award - April Blandford; Assistant Coach Award - Emily Helm.
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