WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Julia Warner of Westfield State has been nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award by the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) as voted on by the eight athletic directors from around the conference.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. The award has been given annually since 1991.

Warner is Westfield State’s fourth recipient of this prestigious award in the past six years. Former Owl student-athletes Rachael Cardin (2013, cross country/track and field), Alicia Gardner (2011, softball/field hockey), and Marlee Berg (2009, cross country/track and field) were also MASCAC nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Warner was a three-time all-conference selection and two-year team captain who helped lead the Owls women's volleyball team to three MASCAC championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances during her stellar four-year collegiate career.

Receiving recognition for her outstanding senior campaign, Warner was an ECAC All-New England selection, the MASCAC Player of the Year, and the MASCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Along with all of her awards, her name is etched in the Westfield State record books as the only volleyball player with more than 1,000 career kills (1.098) and 1,000 career digs (1,249).

A true scholar-athlete, Warner excelled in the classroom as well. A double major (movement science/mathematics), she was the recipient of Westfield State’s Senior Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 3.89 cumulative grade point average, and was selected to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-District® volleyball team

Warner received Westfield State’s prestigious Coach John Kurty Contributions to Athletics Award and the university’s movement science department award for academic excellence. She was a regional and state recipient of the Association of Heath, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance outstanding future professional award.

Along with her stellar career on the court and in the classroom, she was a four-year member of the Westfield State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and a two-year member of the MASCAC SAAC. During her senior year, Warner was the movement science department club president and a member of the mathematics curriculum planning committee.

Among her numerous community service projects, she was a volunteer for Special Olympics and breast cancer awareness activities and served as a volleyball summer program coordinator for the past four years.

“We are very proud of Julia’s many accomplishments at Westfield State University; she was an outstanding student-athlete the past four years,” said Westfield State associate athletics director/senior women's administrator Nancy Bals.

All honorees receive an NCAA certificate and will be recognized on NCAA.org. The top 10 honorees and the nine finalists from Divisions I, II and  III  will  be  honored  and  the  2014 NCAA  Woman  of  the  Year  winner announced at a dinner in Indianapolis October 19, 2014.

Portions of this release courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information