Athlete of the Year Nominee: Lauren Carlini
June 21, 2014 | Volleyball
June 21, 2014
The Badgers enjoyed their share of success in 2013-14 and now UWBadgers.com is honoring the best student-athletes, teams and performances of the year. Over the next few weeks, we'll unveil the best of the Badgers in five categories: Big Ten Medal of Honor (June 16), Athletes of the Year (June 17-21), Team Achievements of the Year (June 22-27), Games of the Year (June 28-July 5) and Freshmen of the Year (July 13-18).
Today we feature Female Athlete of the Year nominee Lauren Carlini of volleyball.
MADISON, Wis. -- It’s not often that a freshman comes in and makes the type of impact that Lauren Carlini did for the Wisconsin volleyball team. In her first season as the Badgers’ starting setter, the 6-foot-2 Carlini guided UW to the NCAA championship match and earned second-team All-America honors.
Carlini’s rookie season had a slow start as she missed four of the first five matches of the season with a leg injury. But once she got on the court, the 2012 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year showed why she was the country’s best player in high school.
The Aurora, Ill., native averaged 11.15 assists per set as a freshman, which ranked third in the Big Ten Conference and 31st nationally. Carlini also ranked second on the UW team with 2.82 digs per set, recording double-figure digs in 22 matches, leading the Badgers with 22 double-doubles on the season. She was the only freshman among the nation’s top 25 teams to serve as her squad’s primary setter.
She was named the 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, just the third Badger honored, while being named to the All-Big Ten team, just the second freshman named and UW’s first honoree since 2007.
Carlini stepped up her game during post-season play, being named the most valuable player of the Champaign NCAA Regional. She was also named to the NCAA championship all-tournament team while becoming the first Wisconsin freshman to earn All-America honors.
The sky’s the limit for Carlini as she spent three weeks during the summer of training with the U.S. National team, one of only two current college athletes selected. She will return to lead the Badgers for the 2014 season as second-year head coach Kelly Sheffield returns six starters and 11 letterwinners in pursuit of a national title.
