Cheese & Wiesbaden (Direct Pickup of Marquette Press Release)

MILWAUKEE - Senior setter Nikki Klingsporn (Oakdale, Minn./Tartan H.S.) of the Marquette University women's volleyball team has signed a contract to play professional volleyball with VC Wiesbaden of the Bundesliga Frauen in Germany.

“We are excited and proud to have another stellar player join the professional ranks," Marquette head coach Bond Shymansky said. "Nikki helped us build a superb offense, and she was a winner in every way. I would love for every one of my players to graduate and continue their career at the next level."

Klingsporn had a memorable two years at Marquette, finishing fourth in school history with 2,626 career assists, including 1,391 in 2010. Her average of 12.10 assists per set in 2010 ranked fourth in the nation and helped the Golden Eagles rank 11th nationally in hitting percentage (.288) and 28th in kills (14.12 per set).

"The dream of playing volleyball shouldn’t end here at Marquette, it should be enlightened here," Shymansky said. "We feel that playing in our system at Marquette is a launching pad for professional volleyball. The German league that she will play in will be tough and competitive so she will have to continue to elevate her game. But the experience of seeing Europe and learning about a new culture will have a life long effect. I am immensely proud of Nikki, and she will be greatly missed.”

The Oakdale, Minn., native helped the Golden Eagles to their best season in school history in 2010 by setting program records for wins (23), BIG EAST Conference victories (11) and consecutive matches won (14). Along with teammates Ashley Beyer and Rabbecka Gonyo, Klingsporn became the first MU athlete to be named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-American since 2006. Klingsporn was also named AVCA All-Northeast Region and to the All-BIG EAST First Team.

The senior helped MU to five-set victories over Louisville, Notre Dame and Seton Hall during the 14-match winning streak, which stretched from Oct. 1-Nov. 12. In that period, Klingsporn tied a career-high with 62 assists in the win over Seton Hall on Nov. 7, while recording 61 assists against Notre Dame to help the Golden Eagles hit .692 in the fifth set.

Klingsporn is the seventh professional volleyball player to have played for Shymansky and second MU athlete in the past month to sign with a European volleyball team. Classmate Rabbecka Gonyo signed to play in Spain with Club Atlético Voleibol Murcia in early January.

Wiesbaden is located along the Rhine roughly 25 miles to the west of Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city in Germany.