HONOLULU, Hawaii ? The Western Athletic Conference 2008 postseason award winners, as selected by the league’s head coaches, were announced tonight at the WAC Volleyball Tournament banquet.
For the second year in a row, Hawai?i outside hitter Jamie Houston was named the WAC Player of the Year. Teammate Kanani Danielson captured Freshman of the Year honors, while New Mexico State’s Mike Jordan was named WAC Coach of the Year.
Six different schools were represented on the first team and eight overall. New Mexico State, the first seed in the WAC Tournament, had four players named to the first team and one to the freshman team. Second-seeded Hawai?i had four players on the first team, three on the second team and two on the freshman team. Utah State placed one on the first team, three on the second team and one on the freshman team. Idaho, Nevada and San Jose State all had one player on the first team.
For the 13th-straight year, Hawai?i boasts the WAC Player of the Year. Houston has ranked in the Top 50 nationally in kills per set all season, averaging 3.99. The senior hit .300 or better in 11 matches this season and finished conference play ranked second in the WAC in kills per game (4.08). She is a four-time all-WAC honoree.
Hawai?i’s Kanani Danieslson earned Freshman of the Year honors, the sixth Rainbow Wahine player to do so. She was also one of 12 players named to the first team and one of six players on the all-freshman team. She hit .305 with 2.57 kills and 3.04 digs in WAC matches.
This is Jordan’s second Coach of the Year honor, having earned the award in 2006, as well. He led the Aggies to their first-ever WAC regular-season title and the top seed in the tournament. NMSU handed Hawai?i its only WAC loss in three sets in Honolulu.
Houston is one of six returning first-team members, along with teammate Aneli Cubi-Otineru, Idaho’s Haley Larsen, and New Mexico State’s Amber Simpson, Krystal Torres and Lindsey Yon. Larsen is the Vandals’ first-ever four-time honoree.
The WAC Tournament presented by Harris Agency begins Thursday, Nov. 20, in Honolulu, Hawaii. There will be five matches on Thursday with No. 8 Boise State facing No. 9 Louisiana Tech in the first match of the day at 9:30 a.m. No. 3 Idaho will take on No. 6 Nevada in the next match at noon, followed by No. 4 Utah State against San Jose State at 2:30 p.m. No. 1 New Mexico State will face the winner of the Boise State vs. Louisiana Tech match at 5 p.m. Host and No. 2 Hawai?i will take on No. 7 Boise State in the last match of the day at 7:30 p.m.
The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, will stream all of the matches of the 2008 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv. Single matches can be viewed for $9.95 or fans can subscribe to the full tournament package (all eight matches) for $19.95.
2008 WAC VOLLEYBALL POSTSEASON AWARD WINNERS
All-Conference First Team
| Name |
Team |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| Krista Altermatt++ |
New Mexico State |
OH |
Sr. |
El Dorado Hills, Calif. (Union Mine) |
| Lindsay Baldwin |
Nevada |
MB |
So. |
Hillsborough, Calif. (Notre Dame Belmont) |
| Kelly Crow |
San Jose State |
OH |
Sr. |
Alamo, Calif. (UC Riverside) |
| Aneli Cubi-Ontineru+ |
Hawai?i |
OH |
Jr. |
Hale?iwa, O?ahu (College of Southern Idaho) |
| Kanani Danielson |
Hawai?i |
OH |
Fr. |
Ewa Beach, O?ahu (Kamehameha Schools) |
| Jamie Houston$$*+ |
Hawai?i |
OH |
Sr. |
Huntsville, Ala. (Huntsville) |
| Amber Kaufman |
Hawai?i |
M |
Jr. |
San Jose, Calif. (Branham) |
| Haley Larsen$$**+ |
Idaho |
OH |
Sr. |
Santa Clarita, Calif. (Canyon) |
| Melissa Osterloh++ |
Utah State |
OH |
Sr. |
Sandy, Utah (Portland State) |
| Amber Simpson$$*+ |
New Mexico State |
MH |
Sr. |
Quincy, Ill. (Quincy) |
| Krystal Torres**+ |
New Mexico State |
L |
Sr. |
Las Cruces, N.M. (Mayfield) |
| Lindsey Yon+ |
New Mexico State |
OH |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas (Texas A&M) |
All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
Team |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| Brianna Amian |
San Jose State |
OH |
So. |
Honolulu, Hawai?i (Kamehameha) |
| Katie Astle |
Utah State |
MB |
So. |
Sandy, Utah (Skyline) |
| Colleen Burke**+ |
San Jose State |
MB |
Sr. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. (Edison) |
| Chelsea Fowles |
Utah State |
S |
So. |
Hollister, Calif. (San Benito) |
| Kylie Harrington |
Nevada |
OH |
So. |
Honolulu, Hawai?i (Saint Francis) |
| Tara Hittle$$++ |
Hawai?i |
L |
Sr. |
Colorado Springs, Colo. (Doherty) |
| Kelsey James |
Idaho |
S |
Sr. |
Sandpoint, Idaho (Sandpoint) |
| Dani Mafua |
Hawai?i |
S |
So. |
Kapolei, O?ahu (Mid-Pacific Institute) |
| Sadie Maughan |
Boise State |
MB |
So. |
Murray, Utah (Murray) |
| Anna McKinney |
Idaho |
MB |
Jr. |
Federal Way, Wash. (Holy Names Academy) |
| Christine Morrill |
Utah State |
L |
So. |
Neola, Utah (Union) |
| Nickie Thomas |
Hawai?i |
M |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas (Westwood) |
All-Freshman Team
| Name |
Team |
Pos. |
Hometown (Previous School) |
| Brianna Clarke |
Fresno State |
MH |
Fresno, Calif. (Buchanan) |
| Kanani Danielson |
Hawai?i |
OH |
Ewa Beach, O?ahu (Kamehameha Schools) |
| Jenna DeVries |
New Mexico State |
S |
Denver, Colo. (Douglas County) |
| Stephanie Ferrell |
Hawai?i |
OH |
Los Angeles, Calif. (Locke) |
| Emily Kortsen |
Utah State |
OH |
Hollister, Calif. (San Benito) |
| Baylee Platt |
Fresno State |
OH |
Fresno, Calif. (Buchanan) |
WAC Freshman of the Year: Kanani Danielson, Hawai?i
WAC Player of the Year: Jamie Houston, Hawai?i
WAC Coach of the Year: Mike Jordan, New Mexico State
$2005 first team selection
$$2005 second team selection
*2006 first team selection
**2006 second team selection
+2007 first team selection
++2007 second team selection