Two MIAA student-athletes - Jenna Grasmsyer of Hope and Kati Schneider of Saint Mary's - are among 480 nominees for the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

Now in its 25th year, the NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female college athletes across Divisions I, II and III who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their college careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Grasmeyer (pictured left) is a former volleyball standout, national champion and 2015 Hope graduate. Earlier this month, she was named the winner of the MIAA 2015 Sheila Wallace Kovalchik Scholar-Athlete Award given to its top senior female student-athlete. She was a four-team All-MIAA selection and a three-time first team All-American.

Schneider (pictured right) is a former volleyball standout and 2015 Saint Mary's graduate. She was selected to the All-MIAA first team in 2012 and 2013, and was a second team All-MIAA selection in her senior year last fall.

The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award. Then, conferences assess each nominee's eligibility and select up to two conference nominees. All conference nominees are forwarded to the Woman of the Year selection committee, which chooses the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division. 

From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three nominees from each division and announces the top nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year.