Lacey (Wacker) Reitz has been named West Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
The Jackson County Central graduate is in her second season as an assistant coach at Northwestern College in Orange City.
Red Raiders’ coach Kyle Van Den Bosch was named AVCA Region Coach of the Year.
Northwestern is first in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ratings and has a 30-2 record after winning 3-1 over No. 10-ranked Vanguard (Calif.) Saturday in the quarterfinals of the national tournament in Sioux City.
The Red Raiders advanced to the semifinals for the first time in school history and will play Viterbo at 5 p.m. Monday in Sioux City. Northwestern defeated Viterbo 3-2 on Sept. 26 in LaCrosse.
Eastern Oregon faces Indiana Wesleyan in the other semifinal, with the winners meeting for the national title on Tuesday.
Reitz joined the Northwestern volleyball staff as a full-time assistant coach in January 2022 after playing four seasons for the Red Raiders.
She had more than 5,000 assists in her career and is second in program history in career assists.