Hagglund a finalist for CLASS Award


USC senior libero Natalie Hagglund was named a finalist for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award on Thursday.

The finalists for the award were selected from a group of 30 candidates by a media committee. Hagglund and Stanford middle blocker Carly Wopat are the two players representing the Pac-12 conference out of 10 total finalists.

The Senior CLASS award is given to the women’s volleyball athlete who exhibits strong play on the court, in addition to exceptional academic performance.

On the court, Hagglund has been an asset to the Women of Troy’s back line and currently serves as a team captain. Hagglund was also USC’s first-ever first-team All-American libero as a sophomore in 2011, and repeated for the honor in 2012.

The Women of Troy are coming off a close win against Stanford where they defeated the Cardinal in five sets (16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 15-9). The game marked a personal milestone for Hagglund — the senior had a season-high 36 digs and passed former USC libero Debora Seilhamer (2,071 digs) to put her at the top of the USC women’s volleyball career list for digs with 2,095. The total ranks fifth in Pac-12 conference history, and Hagglund is sure to continue her climb up the conference record books in the Women of Troy’s remaining nine regular season games.

Off the court, the senior communications major has received Dean’s List honors, holds one of the highest GPA’s on the team, and was twice a Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention. Hagglund also has a minor in occupational therapy.

Voting for the final award will be decided by media members, Division I head coaches, and a nationwide fan vote at SeniorCLASSAward.com. Fan voting will take place through Dec. 9.