Falcon volleyball player Melissa Tvrdik (Sr., Farwell, Minn.) won the top two individual awards given by the WIAC when she was named the league's Most Valuable Player and the sport's Scholar-Athlete.

Tvrdik led the team with a .358 hitting percentage and finished with 457 kills, second on the team. She led the Falcons with 50 aces and with 131 total blocks. She finished with 191 digs.

Tvrdik is one of UW-RF's top career players. She is ccrently third in career kills (1191), fifth in career kill attempts (2648), second in career kill percentage (.325) and second in career block assists (329). UWRF is 112-41 during her four-year career. UWRF has won two WIAC titles (2002, 2003) and competed in the NCAA Div. III tournament in 2000 and 2003.She has had double digits in kills in 68 of 111 career matches played. She had double digit kills and double digit digs in seven career matches.

This season she was the UWRF Player of the Week four times and was the WIAC Player of the Week once.
She led team in kill percentage (.358), solo blocks (19), block assists (112) and total blocks (131). She had a career high 14 digs against Nebraska-Wesleyan (Oct. 10) and Whitewater (Sept. 20). Tvrdik had double digit kills in 30 of 39 matches and had double digit kills and digs in six matches.

In 2002, she was named the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player and was named to the All-WIAC first team. She was named to the AVCA All-Midwest Region team and then was named to the AVCA second All-American team. She was named the UW-RF Player of the Week four times. Tvrdik led team in kill percentage (.345), solo blocks (17), block assists (116), and total blocks (133). She had her career high kill match (21) vs. Trinity on Oct. 26, 2002 and had double digit kills in 24 of 39 matches. She had double digit kills and digs once.

In 2001, she was named the team's Most Valuable Player and was given honorable mention to the All-WIAC squad. She was named the UWRF Player of the Week three times. She led the Falcons in kill percentage (.261), solo blocks (14), block assists (97) and total blocks (111). She had double digit kills in 14 of 33 matches.

In 2000 Tvrdik was named the team's Most Improved Player.

Tvrdik's accomplishments in the class room have been just as impressive. She is majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology and maintains a 3.795 grade point average. She is a three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and has been named to UW-RFDean’s List every semester she has been enrolled at the University. Tvrdik has also earned an academic scholarship from the school’s psychology department. Tvrdik is a member of Psi Chi National Honor Society and is currently serving as vice president. She has also worked with autistic children.

The Scholar-Athlete award is presented to the most outstanding senior from each conference sport during the year who exhibits the greatest combination of performance and achievements in academics, athletics and leadership.

Tvrdik becomes the second women’s volleyball student-athlete in school history to receive the league’s top scholastic honor, joining Melissa Mattson who won the award in 2000. Mattson also was named the league's Most Valuable Player that same season.

UW-RF finished the 2003 regular season with a 34-5 overall record. The Falcons tied for first in the WIAC regular season standings with a 7-1 record. It was the second year in a row that the Falcons have tied for the No. 1 spot in the WIAC. The Falcons have earned an at large berth into the NCAA Div. III National playoffs.

Go to the 2003 Falcon statistics.

Tvrdik's Season, Career Statistics