Concordia-St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame
One of the most decorated players in college volleyball history, Maggie McNamara, BA ’10, still holds the NCAA record for career assists across all three divisions, marks she earned while guiding the offense of Concordia St. Paul’s first three national championship teams.
In addition to her staggering 7,351 career assists, which are 271 more than the next closest player, the Zumbrota, Minnesota native also holds the career and single-season NCAA Division II records in assists per set as she tallied 14.11 assists per set over her four years, including a record-setting 15.09 as a freshman in 2006. McNamara’s dominance is further exemplified by the fact that she holds the top two single-season performances in assists per set in the 25-point scoring format (2008 & 2009) and first and fourth spots in the 30-point scoring format (2006 & 2007).
Her list of accolades include being a two-time AVCA and Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, a four-time AVCA and Daktronics All-American, an AVCA National Freshman of the Year and, perhaps most impressively, the 2009 Sports Imports Division II Female Athlete of the Year in all sports. She also earned recognition for her efforts in the classroom as she was a 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team pick, a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District pick and a three-time NSIC All-Academic pick.
While her list of individual honors were impressive, they were matched by an incredible list of team successes during her career. During her four years on campus, the Golden Bears compiled a staggering 146-8 record overall and a 75-1 record in NSIC play as the team won their first three of seven consecutive national titles. The team added four NSIC championships and reached the NCAA Central Region championship in all four of her seasons on campus.
After arriving from Zumbrota-Mazeppa High School, McNamara immediately made her presence known in navy and gold by breaking the NCAA DII record set by fellow CSP Athletic Hall of Fame selection Cailin (Terhaar) Minor, BA ’06, MA ’12, the year prior with a career-best 15.09 assists per set. She led the team to the second-most kills per set (17.32) and the eighth-best hitting percentage (.280) in the country while tallying 36 wins and a perfect 18-0 mark in the NSIC, reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
McNamara picked up where she left off in her sophomore campaign as she once again led the nation with 14.53 assists per set as the team secured its first national championship.
The switch to the 25-point scoring format in her junior season did little to slow her down as she earned her first of two National Player of the Year honors. Her mark of 13.41 assists per set that season still stands as the best single-season effort across all three NCAA divisions since the format switch. The offense finished with a nation-leading 15.22 kills per set while its .304 hitting percentage also ranked third. The squad was nearly unbeatable in 2008 as it won the final 37 matches of the year to make it two straight titles.
That winning streak carried over to 2009 as the team put together a magical run in which it went a perfect 37-0 to extend its winning streak to 74 and make it back-to-back-to-back national crowns. McNamara made it four straight years as the nation’s leader in assists per set at 13.26 en route to claiming her second National Player of the Year selection. The team once again led the nation in kills per set at 15.36 and finished second in hitting percentage at .317.
McNamara received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 2010 before taking a position as a Buyer and Inventory Manager at Steinel America, Inc. where she worked for six years. After spending two years at Amazon, she moved into her current position at CHS working as a Buyer in the Processing and Food Ingredients Division.
McNamara remains active in the volleyball community. She spent time at Northern Lights and Blazer Volleyball clubs in the Junior Olympic circuit while also coaching at Visitation High School and the University of St. Thomas. During her first year at St. Thomas, the Tommies claimed the NCAA Division III National Championship.
McNamara still lives in the Twin Cities and has two children, Maddox and Emmitt.
