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This Week in WAC Volleyball - Oct. 29

This Week in WAC Volleyball - Oct. 29

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This Week in WAC Volleyball - Oct. 29
BAKERSFIELD’S ARAUJO NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Bakersfield senior outside hitter Debora Araujo has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 21-27. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.

The Belo Horizonte, Brazil, native led the Roadrunners to a pair of wins last week to extend their winning streak to six matches, the longest for the program at the Division I level. She averaged WAC-bests of 5.50 points, 4.29 kills and 1.14 service aces per set, and added 2.86 digs per set. Araujo opened the week with nine digs, eight kills and six service aces in Bakersfield’s sweep of Seattle U. In a 3-1 victory over Idaho, she posted her ninth double-double of the year with 22 kills on .349 hitting to go along with 11 digs, two aces and two assists.

Other nominees included: Grand Canyon’s Mackenzie Phelps averaged a WAC-best 5.46 digs to go along with 0.69 assists per set as the Antelopes went 1-3 last week ... Sydney Crimmins of Kansas City averaged 2.67 kills on .455 hitting, 3.17 digs and 1.33 blocks per set as the Kangaroos went 2-0 last week ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy averaged 4.00 points, 3.33 kills on .548 hitting and 0.83 blocks per set as the Aggies reclaimed the top spot in the WAC standings ... Haley Durham of Texas-Pan American averaged 2.86 kills and 0.29 blocks per set last week ... Utah Valley’s Brookelyn Hall averaged 10.62 assists, 2.50 digs, 1.25 blocks and 1.12 kills per set as the Wolverines went 1-1 on the week.

WAC STAT LEADERS
Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.35) and kills (13.97), while New Mexico State is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.147) and Grand Canyon leads the league in digs (17.05). Meanwhile, Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.237), Kansas City leads the league in blocks (2.95) and Texas-Pan American is tops in service aces (1.48).
 
Individually, Bakersfield’s Debora Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.79) and points (4.29), while Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait is tops in service aces (0.41). Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.367) and teammate Meredith Coba leads the league in assists (10.01). Kansas City’s Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in blocks (1.37), while Grand Canyon’s Mackenzie Phelps is tops in digs (5.49).

In WAC matches only, New Mexico State leads the league in hitting percentage (.258), opponent hitting percentage (.104) and blocks (3.15). Bakersfield is tops in assists (12.84), kills (13.45) and service aces (1.58), while Grand Canyon is tops in digs (17.59).

Individually in WAC matches, Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.513), while Bakersfield’s Araujo is tops in kills (3.79) and points (4.34). Fernanda Gonçalves leads the league in assists (11.11), while Chicago State’s Mia Townsell and Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait lead the league in service aces (0.44). Utah Valley’s Lauren Stringham is tops in blocks (1.51), while Phelps leads the WAC in digs (5.18).

GRAND CANYON’S NABER PICKS UP 300TH CAREER VICTORY
With her team’s win over Texas-Pan American on Oct. 21, Grand Canyon head coach Kris Naber picked up her 300th career victory. The winningest coach in program history, Naber is now 300-257 (.539)over 19 years.

UTAH VALLEY’S HALL APPROACHES ALL-TIME ASSISTS RECORD
Utah Valley senior setter Brookelyn Hall became just the second player in program history to reach the 4,000 career assist plateau in a victory over Seattle U on Oct. 26. With 4,055 assists in her four years as a Wolverine, Hall is just two assists shy of the school record of 4,057,  held by assistant coach Lacee Jones.

GCU’S PHELPS BREAKS WAC RECORD FOR DIGS IN A MATCH
In a five-set loss to Central Connecticut State on Sept. 13, Grand Canyon junior libero Mackenzie Phelps set a Grand Canyon and WAC single-match record with 52 digs. Phelps broke the previous WAC record of 47 set by Jessie Shull of San Jose State during the 2006 season.

In addition, with 1,689 career digs, Phelps is 41 shy of the school’s all-time record of 1,730 set by Laurann Durbin (2008-11).

WOLVERINES’ TAIT CLOSE TO SCHOOL DIGS RECORD
Utah Valley junior libero McKenna Tait, who currently leads the WAC in both service aces (40) and service aces per set (0.41), has 128 career service aces. Tait is just eight aces away from the school record of 136 that was set by Kat Stevens (2007-10).

WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets for the 2013 WAC Volleyball Tournament, which will be held Nov. 25-27 at Grand Canyon University Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., are on sale now. All-session tickets, which are general admission seating and gets you admission all five matches, are $23. Tickets can be purchased at www.gcuarena.com.

Single session tickets go on sale Monday, Nov. 25, at the arena box office.

2013 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2013 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held Nov. 25-27 at Grand Canyon Arena on the campus of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., and will include the top six eligible teams in the regular-season standings.

WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Nov. 25 (First Round)
Match 1 - No. 6 seed vs. No. 3 seed, 5 p.m.
Match 2 - No. 5 seed vs. No. 4 seed, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 26 (Semifinals)
Match 3 - Winner Match 1 vs. No. 2 seed, 5 p.m.
Match 4 - Winner Match 2 vs. No. 1 seed, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 27 (Championship)
Match 5 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 5 p.m.

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (15-9, 7-3 WAC)
The Roadruuners swept Seattle U (25-19, 25-13, 25-22) last Thursday and defeated Idaho in four sets (23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23) on Saturday to move into third place in the WAC standings ... Against the Redhawks, Kelsee Sawyer led all players with 13 kills, Fernanda Gonçalves dished out 47 assists and Debora Araujo tallied six aces ... Against Idaho, Gonçalves recorded her WAC-leading 11th double-double of the year with 52 assists and 13 digs, while Araujo had her ninth double-double with 22 kills and 11 digs ... Bakersfield has won six in a row, the longest for the program at the Division I level  ... As a team, Bakersfield ranks 19th nationally in assists (13.35) and 30th in kills (13.97) ... Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.79) and points (4.29), while Sawyer ranks fourth in kills (3.13) and fifth in points (3.53) ... Gonçalves is second in the WAC in assists (9.89), while Mariah Alvidrez is second in digs (5.01) ... The Roadrunners play at Kansas City on Thursday and at Chicago State on Saturday.

CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (2-22, 0-9 WAC)
The Cougars fell in straight sets (14-25, 17-25, 13-25) at Kansas City last Friday in its only match of the week ... Valeria Desiderio led the Cougars with nine kills, while Paula Sioto added eight kills and 10 digs ... Mackenzie Lotter posted a match-high 25 assists, while Julia Menhart had a match-high 13 digs ... On Monday, Chicago State fell in straight sets to Valparaiso (22-25, 23-25, 18-25) ... Sioto led all players with 12 kills, while  Menhart had a match-high 13 digs ... Lotter had 32 assists, while Valeria Desiderio fell just short of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs ... Sioto, who ranks second in the WAC in kills (3.57) and points (4.01), has recorded double-digit kills in 12 of the Cougars’ last 16 matches ... Sioto has 293 kills so far this season, the most Stacey Cole had 402 kills in 2003 ... As a team, Chicago State ranks fourth in the league in service aces (1.20) ... Chicago State plays at Grand Canyon on Thursday and hosts Bakersfield on Saturday.

GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (8-14, 2-7 WAC)
The Antelopes gave head coach Kris Naber her 300th career victory with a four-set win over Texas-Pan American (25-18, 25-17, 15-25, 25-18), then fell at UTEP (23-25, 17-25, 8-25), at New Mexico State (18-25, 16-25, 16-25) and at Kansas City (17-25, 18-25, 22-25) ... Against the Broncs, Megan Davis posted her fourth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 13 digs, while Marilyn Agae had her first double-double of the year with 14 assists and 14 digs ... Jessica Posse also doubled up with 24 assists and 11 digs ... Against the Miners, Hayleigh Friemoth had 10 kills and eight digs ... Against the Aggies, Kaitlynn Ausmus had eight kills, while Mackenzie Phelps had 17 digs and Posse dished out 12 assists ... Against the ‘Roos, Friemoth had nine kills and 10 digs, while Phelps had a match-high 16 digs ... The WAC’s active leader in career digs, Phelps has 1,689 and is 41 shy of the program record ... The Antelopes host Chicago State on Thursday in their only match this week.

IDAHO VANDALS  (13-9, 6-4 WAC)
The Vandals defeated Utah Valley in five sets (16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 15-12) last Thursday, then fell in four sets (25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 23-25) at Bakersfield on Saturday ... Against the Wolverines, Katelyn Peterson and Jessica Hastriter had 11 kills each, while Meredith Coba was just shy of a double-double, finishing with 44 assists and nine digs ... Against the Roadrunners, Alyssa Schultz led Idaho with 12 kills and six blocks, while Peterson posted a double-double of 10 kills and 14 digs ... Taylor Wilkinson had a match-high nine blocks, while Coba had 30 assists ... Schultz leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.367), ranks fifth in blocks (1.15) and ninth in points (3.26) ... Coba leads the league in assists (10.01), while Jenna Ellis is fifth in digs (4.06) ... Hastriter ranks fifth in the WAC in kills (3.05), while Wilkinson is fourth in hitting percentage (.305) ... The Vandals lead the WAC in hitting percentage (.237) ... Idaho hosts New Mexico State on Thursday and Texas-Pan American on Saturday.

KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (12-10, 6-4 WAC)
The Kangaroos swept Chicago State (25-14, 25-17, 25-13) last Friday and Grand Canyon (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) Saturday ... Against the Cougars, Emma Hagedorn led all players with nine kills and five blocks, while Chloe Jarema and Taylor Buhrow added eight kills apiece ... Against the Antelopes, Sydney Crimmins recorded her team-high sixth double-double of the season with  13 kills and 12 digs, while Kaylyn Brandt also posted a double-double of 12 assists and 11 digs ... Taryn Miller has posted double-digit digs in 19 of 22 matches this season ... The ‘Roos rank sixth in the nation in blocks (2.95) and 40th in digs (16.17) ... Hagedorn leads the WAC and ranks 22nd nationally in blocks (1.37), while Miller is third in the WAC and 45th nationally in digs (4.87) ... Crimmins ranks fourth in the WAC in points (3.57), sixth in blocks (1.11) and ninth in hitting percentage (.248), while Melissa Hartsel is fourth in blocks (1.16) ... Kansas City leads the WAC in blocks (2.95) ... The ‘Roos host Bakersfield on Thursday and Utah Valley on Saturday.

NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (13-10, 8-2 WAC)
The Aggies swept Grand Canyon (25-18, 25-16, 25-16) and Texas-Pan American (25-13, 25-13, 25-15) last week to regain sole possession of first place in the WAC standings ... Against the Antelopes, Bradley Nash her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 17 digs, while Gwen Murphy also tallied 11 kills and Taylor Livoti posted her eighth double-double of the season with 22 assists and 12 digs ... Against the Broncs, Murphy led the Aggies with nine kills on .727 hitting ... Desiree Scott ranks 50th in the nation with 1.25 blocks per set ... As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.147), rank second in blocks (2.52), third in kills (12.43), and fourth in hitting percentage (.213) and assists (11.44) ... Scott ranks second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.350), third in blocks (1.25) and seventh in points (3.40), while Stephanie Ziegler is ninth in digs (3.15) and Lauren Loerch is 10th in kills (2.70) ... The Aggies play at Idaho on Thursday and at Seattle U on Saturday.

SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (10-16, 7-4 WAC)
The Redhawks’ four-match winning streak came to an end with losses at Bakersfield (19-25, 13-25, 22-25) and Utah Valley (19-25, 23-25, 9-25) last week ... Against the Roadrunners, Iris Ivanis had 10 kills, Kerry Lane had 25 assists and Lani Beadle finished with 11 digs ... Against the Wolverines, Martina Samadan finished with 12 kills and five blocks, while Lane posted a double-double of 23 assists and 12 digs ... Beadle is now just nine digs away from becoming the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 career digs ... Ivanis ranks sixth in the WAC in kills (2.98) and points (3.41), and 10th in service aces (0.26) ... Lane is fourth in the WAC in assists (9.30), while Beadle is seventh in digs (3.32) ... The Redhawks play their final two home matches of the season this week, hosting Texas-Pan American on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday for Senior Night, the final home contest for Beadle, Allison Farley, Sarah Jaeckel and Karli Pedone.

TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (11-15, 1-9 WAC)
The Broncs fell to Grand Canyon (18-25, 17-25, 25-15, 18-25) last Monday and at New Mexico State (13-25, 13-25, 15-25) on Saturday ... Against the Antelopes, Krysta Freitas had a match-high 12 kills to go along with 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season .... Against the Aggies, Haley Durham paced UTPA with nine kills, while Nycole Masaki finished with 22 assists ... The Broncs drew 1,018 fans against GCU and have drawn a program-record 5,337 fans this season for a program-record 762 average with four home matches remaining ... UTPA leads the WAC and ranks 50th nationally with 1.48 service aces per set ... The Broncs also rank fourth in the WAC in digs (14.12) ... Freitas ranks second in the WAC in service aces (0.35), while Masaki is fourth in digs (0.32) and sixth in assists (8.97) ... Maria Kliefoth is sixth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.275), while Nausheen Merchant is eighth in digs (3.23) ... The Broncs play at Seattle U on Thursday and at Idaho on Saturday.

UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (15-12, 8-3 WAC)
The Wolverines fell in five sets (25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 17-25, 12-15) to Idaho last Thursday, then swept (25-19, 25-23, 25-9) Seattle U on Saturday ... Against the Vandals, Nakisha Willden had 15 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double of the season ... Brookelyn Hall posted her sixth double-double of the year with 54 assists and 12 digs, while McKenna Tait had a match-high 26 digs ... Against the Redhawks, Willden led UVU with 12 kills, while Hall finished with 31 assists, eight digs and seven blocks ... On Monday, UVU swept Southern Utah (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) in its final non-conference match of the season ... The Wolverines hit a season-high .543 on the match ... Kalani Norris had a match-high 13 kills on .722 hitting, while Hall finished with 33 assists, five kills on five attempts with no errors for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage, four blocks and four digs ... Hall is two assists shy of the UVU career assists record (4,057) ... Utah Valley plays at Kansas City in its only other match this week.