INDIANAPOLIS – Senior setter Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) of the UW-Superior volleyball team has been selected as the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference nominee for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the NCAA announced Tuesday.
 
VerWay, along 147 other student-athletes across all three NCAA divisions, will now advance in the process. The top-30 candidates will be announced in September, and, after being narrowed to nine, the NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.
 
Rooted in Title IX and directed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, the NCAA Woman of the Year program celebrates the accomplishments of female college athletes across the NCAA. For 29 years, the program has honored the academic achievements, athletics excellence, community service and leadership.
 
A four-time All-UMAC First Team selection and three-year team captain, VerWay finished her career with 3,950 assists in 436 sets, an average of 9.06 per set. She was also named UMAC Rookie of the Year in 2015.
 
Beyond her exploits on the court, VerWay was exemplary in the classroom. With a 3.87 GPA, she was a double major in music and business administration, graduating in May. VerWay was a four-time member of the UMAC All-Academic Team and earned a place on the Google Cloud Academic All-District^® Team, presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
 
Further, VerWay separated herself in the community. An accomplished pianist, VerWay has assisted in leading worship for church services at Faith Baptist in Hermantown, Minn., and at First Calvary in her hometown for the last five years. She also taught piano to children and teens in the area since 2016. She accompanied the UWS a capella choir for three years, while also volunteering on the piano at a local church in Superior this year.
 
In 2018, VerWay auditioned and won the opportunity to solo as a guest artist with the Mesabi Symphony Orchestra. 
 
VerWay has volunteered for the Club Superior volleyball team's head coach for the 2017-18 season. She planned and ran practices for the 17 Selects, coaching in tournaments and developing players.
 
VerWay has also volunteered for athletics department community initiatives, including working at Second Harvest Food Bank and was part of "Caroling for Cans," among other endeavors.  
 
Finally, VerWay spent 2016-17 as student leader for Athletes in Action, including leading weekly meetings and bible lessons.

VerWay is the first UMAC NCAA Woman of the Year nominee for the Yellowjackets since UWS joining the conference beginning in the 2015-16 season.