Samantha Lau has been singled out to receive the first Northwest Conference Libero of the Year Award and teammate Kailana Ritte-Camara (Soph., Molokai, Hawaii) was an honorable mention selection on the all-league team released Tuesday.

Lau, a senior captain, started all 25 matches for the Wildcats at the libero position. For the third consecutive year, she led the Northwest Conference in both digs (582) and digs per set (5.94). Lau broke her own single-season program record for digs, topping her previous standard of 561 set last season. The libero also recorded a team-high 39 service aces, which ranked second in the league.

She graduates as Linfield’s all-time leader in career digs with 1,881 and is also the career leader in digs per set (5.48) and reception percentage (.941).

This is the fourth all-conference honor for Lau; she was an honorable mention selection as freshman outside hitter and received first-team honors the previous two seasons.

Ritte-Camara, a freshman outside hitter, led the ‘Cats in kills with 276, an average of 2.82 per set. Her total kills ranked third among all players in the Northwest Conference. Ritte-Camara, a lefty, also tallied 30 blocks and 21 aces on the year.

She was the only player to register 20-plus kills this season, racking up 23 and 21 in two matches against Whitman.

The two players helped Linfield achieve a sixth-place finish in the Northwest Conference with a 6-10 league record and 11-14 overall win-loss mark.

Kaimi Rocha of Whitworth was named the NWC Player of the Year, and the Pirates’ Steve Rupe was selected by his peers at the NWC Coach of the Year.