Rice outside hitter Rebeca Pazo has been named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 20. This is the first WAC Player of the Week honor of the year for the senior, who earned the honor twice in 2002.
The Caracas, Venezuela, native was named to the all-tournament team of the GlaxoSmithKline Carolina Classic after averaging 4.91 kills and 4.82 digs a game over the weekend. Against No.1 Minnesota, Pazo had 21 kills and 18 digs. The Owls took the top-ranked Gophers to five games before losing. Pazo rebounded the next match with an impressive nine kills and 11 digs in game one against North Carolina and went on to lead Rice with 14 kills and 26 digs in the match.
In the tournament finale against No. 20 Loyola Marymount, she again led Rice with 19 kills and nine digs as the Owls defeated an AVCA ranked opponent for just the second time in school history. Earlier in the week, Pazo posted 11 kills and 12 digs against rival Houston. With the Owls trailing late in game one, she put up four-straight Rice points setting up the win, then in game three, she served up eight points, including a pair of aces, to give the Owls a lead they would not relinquish.
Other nominees included: Christianna Reneau, Fresno State; Susie Boogaard, Hawaii; Megan Rush, Louisiana Tech; Salaia Salave`a, Nevada; Rebeca Pazo, Rice; Carrie Nash, San Jose State; Jacky Niederstadt, SMU; Kari Stacy, UTEP and Lindsay Eaves, Tulsa.