After back-to-back MAC Player of the Year honors and leading NIU volleyball to historic seasons, Lauren Wicinski tackled her next task over the weekend: The U.S. Women’s National Team.

Wicinski spent the weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. trying out for the Women’s National Team, U.S. Women’s National A2 Program and U.S. Women’s Junior National team, according to a press release.

Last summer, the sophomore joined the USA Volleyball A2 Junior Team as they played in Pula, Croatia in the 2011 European Global Challenge.

“It was pretty overwhelming having that many great players there,” Wicinski said in a press release. “I recognized a lot of them and it was awesome to be there. It was nerve-racking because I didn’t know what to expect but it was a cool experience. It was cool to be able to compete with them and find out that I can actually compete with them. It just makes you better knowing that you can go out there and do that.”

Wicinski got to play on the final day in four 15-minute games and wouldn’t dissapoint. Wicinski would total 41 kills on 105 attempts along with 12 errors during her play at the try out. The Geneva native also added 54 total points, 18 digs, nine aces and four solo blocks.

Wicinski had some NIU company at the event, as assistant coach Dan Pawlikowski made the trip with her.

“Saturday, she was in one of the higher skill groups, which was good because she got to compete with a lot of the better Big Ten players,” Pawlikowski said in a press release. “She played really well against a lot of the players out there. She was scoring the ball well, passing the ball well, and served effectively as well. I heard a number of comments from other court coaches and college coaches out there on how good of an all-around player she was. A lot of people were pleasantly surprised at some of the things she could do, especially defensively. On Sunday, she was one of the top point scorers for her team. All in all, I thought it was a very good experience for her and she represented NIU very well.”

Wicinski will find out if she makes the cut in the next couple of weeks, according to the press release.