Martins named conference-level nominee for 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year
Mars Hill senior libero Ully Martins has been named a conference-level nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Mars Hill senior libero Ully Martins has been named a conference-level nominee for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award.
Martins, a recent graduate and defensive specialist, has been a member of the women's volleyball program for four years and currently has a 3.74 Cumulative GPA while majoring in Computer Science with her bachelor's degree. Martins made the Mars Hill Dean's List all four years as well the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll her first three years.
On the court, as a true freshman starter she played in 19 matches for a total of 56 sets, she collected 206 digs, 16 assists and nine aces. As a sophomore who competed in 29 matches while picking up 622 digs, she ranked fourth in SAC digs per set and fifth in overall digs for the SAC. Martins had an impressive junior season with 606 digs, 79 assists and 16 service aces. This resulted in her ranking second in both digs per set and over all digs in the league.
In a short 10 match spring season she concluded her senior season with 223 digs, 34 assists, six aces and became No. 1 in the league for digs per set and digs overall. She was named to SAC First Team All-Conference in both the pre and post season while also helping lead her team to their fourth straight SAC Tournament Bid.
A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Martins is active on and off of the court in the Mars Hill community. She has put together canned food drives with the Mars Hill Student Athlete Advisory Committee during all four years. Martins helped to host Halloween Trunk-or-Treat opportunities for community children, while coaching young children in Brazil every summer. She was an instrumental part in the "Dig Pink", nights where the team would raise money for breast cancer research. Lastly Martins volunteered to help other Mars Hill students better their mathematical skills by tutoring them weekly.
About NCAA Woman of the Year Award
From 535 school nominees, 153 college athletes have been named conference-level nominees for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
The nominees represent student-athletes from 18 different sports spanning all three NCAA divisions. Of those nominated, 57 nominees competed in Division I, 36 in Division II and 60 in Division III.
Conferences can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school's primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, were placed in a separate pool to be considered by a selection committee. Three nominees from the pool were selected to move forward in the process with the conference nominees.
The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in September. The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.
