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 Nov. 18-24. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and her career.
The Belo Horizonte, Brazil, native led the Roadrunners to a pair of wins last week, posting a pair of double-doubles. Araujo opened the week with 17 kills and 16 digs in a sweep of Grand Canyon. She followed it up with 14 kills on .550 hitting to go along with 12 digs at Texas-Pan American. For the week, Araujo averaged WAC-bests of 5.42 points and 5.17 kills to go along with 4.67 digs per set.
Other nominees included: Grand Canyon’s Shannon Dugan averaged 4.80 kills and 3.33 digs as the Antelopes went 2-2 on the week ... Alyssa Schultz of Idaho averaged 2.50 kills on .400 hitting, 1.75 blocks and 1.00 digs per set as the Vandals went 1-0 on the week ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy averaged 3.0 kills on .467 hitting and 1.67 blocks per set as the Aggies went 1-0 on the week ... Haley Durham of Texas-Pan American averaged 3.33 kills, 1.00 digs and 1.0 blocks per set last week ... Utah Valley’s Lauren Stringham averaged 3.33 kills and 1.67 blocks per set.
2013 ALL-WAC TEAM
New Mexico State senior middle hitter Desiree Scott was named WAC Player of the Year, while Seattle U’s Iris Ivanis was named Freshman of the Year and NM State head coach Mike Jordan earned WAC Coach of the Year honors.
Six of the nine schools were represented on the teams, led by Bakersfield and Utah Valley with two players each on the first team and one apiece on the second team. Top-seeded New Mexico State had two players on the first team.
Scott earned WAC Player of the Year honors after ranking second in the conference in WAC matches in blocks (1.38), third in hitting percentage (.401), fifth in points (3.69) and ninth in kills (2.78). She hit .300 or better in 11 of 16 WAC matches. In the most recent NCAA statistics, Scott ranks 40th nationally in blocks per set (1.29).
Ivanis earned Freshman of the Year honors after ranking third in the league in WAC play in kills (3.53), fourth in points (3.96) and ninth in service aces (0.27). She also averaged 2.06 digs per set in WAC play, had 10 or more kills in 11 of the 13 WAC matches in which she played and had four double-doubles in WAC play.
Jordan led his team to its second WAC regular-season title with a 14-2 league record and the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament. This is the third time in his career he’s earned the honor (2006, 2008).
WAC TO STREAM VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT FROM GRAND CANYON
The WAC, in conjunction with its Web site partner NeuLion, will stream all of the matches of the 2013 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WACsports.tv. All five matches can be seen on WACsports.tv by accessing the volleyball tournament package for a one-time price of $9.95. More information and how to subscribe to these video streaming events can be found at www.WACsports.tv.
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 include admission to 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.
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS SECOND WAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
New Mexico State captured the WAC regular-season title with a 14-2 record. It was the Aggies’ second WAC regular-season title since joining the conference in 2005, but first outright title. NM State is the top seed in the WAC Tournament.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.44) and kills (14.16), while Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.247) and New Mexico State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.139). Meanwhile, Kansas City leads the league in blocks (2.88), Texas-Pan American is tops in service aces (1.45) and Grand Canyon leads the league in digs (17.84).
Individually, Bakersfield’s Debora Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.90) and points (4.39), while teammate Fernanda Gonçalves leads the league in assists (10.33). Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.378) and Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait is tops in service aces (0.45). Kansas City’s Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in blocks (1.34), while Grand Canyon’s Mackenzie Phelps is tops in digs (5.65).
In WAC matches only, New Mexico State led the league in hitting percentage (.265), opponent hitting percentage (.104) and blocks (2.98). Bakersfield was tops in assists (13.37), kills (14.15) and service aces (1.53), while Grand Canyon led the league in digs (18.18).
Individually in WAC matches only, New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy led the conference in hitting percentage (.470), while Bakersfield’s Araujo was tops in both kills (3.98) and points (4.50). Gonçalves led the league in assists (11.58), while Tait was tops in service aces (0.51). Utah Valley’s Lauren Stringham led the WAC in blocks (1.57), while Phelps was tops in digs (5.33).
WOLVERINES’ TAIT BREAKS SCHOOL CAREER ACES RECORD
Utah Valley junior libero McKenna Tait, who currently leads the WAC in both service aces (52) and service aces per set (0.45), broke the program Division I record for career service aces in the Wolverines’ loss to Bakersfield on Nov. 16. Tait now has 141 aces on her career.
KANSAS CITY’S HAGEDORN SETS BLOCK ASSISTS RECORD
Kansas City sophomore middle blocker Emma Hagedorn set the program single-season record for block assists with 127, surpassing Julie Mohrfeld, who had 116 in 1999. Hagedorn also ranks second in total blocks in a season with 143, just nine behind Staci Schumacher who had 154 in 1992.
GRAND CANYON’S PHELPS BECOMES ALL-TIME DIGS LEADER
With 28 digs at Utah Valley on Nov. 7, Grand Canyon junior libero Mackenzie Phelps became the all-time program leader in digs, surpassing the previous record of 1,730 set by Laurann Durbin (2008-11). Phelps now has 1,817 career digs.
UTAH VALLEY’S HALL BECOMES ALL-TIME ASSISTS LEADER
Utah Valley senior setter Brookelyn Hall became the program’s all-time assist leader in the first set against Kansas City on Nov. 2, surpassing assistant coach Lacee Jones for the top spot. Hall now has 4,250 assists in her four years as a Wolverine.
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 304-262 (.537) over 19 years.
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.
NEW MEXICO STATE FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
The WAC volleyball coaches selected New Mexico State to win the WAC regular-season crown in 2013. The Aggies received seven first-place votes, while Idaho received the other two.
The Aggies earned 62 total points, followed by Idaho with 58. Utah Valley was picked third with 44 points, followed by Seattle U in fourth with 39 points, just ahead of Bakersfield in fifth with 38 and Kansas City in sixth with 35 points. Texas-Pan American, Grand Canyon and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 21, 17 and 10 points, respectively.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Idaho junior middle blocker Alyssa Schultz, who last year ranked second in the league in blocks per set (1.42) and fourth in hitting percentage (.340), was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
Idaho placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with three, while Bakersfield, New Mexico State and Utah Valley had two apiece. Joining Schultz on the preseason team are teammates Katelyn Peterson and Taylor Wilkinson, Bakersfield’s Debora Araujo and Fernanda Gonçalves, New Mexico State’s Lauren Loerch and Desiree Scott, Utah Valley’s Brookelyn Hall and Lauren Stringham, Emma Hagedorn of Kansas City, Mackenzie Phelps of Grand Canyon and Martina Samadan of Seattle U.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (20-11, 12-4 WAC)
The Roadruuners swept Grand Canyon (25-16, 25-22, 30-28) last Monday and beat Texas-Pan American (25-20, 25-20, 25-20) last Wednesday to earn the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament ... Against the Antelopes, Debora Araujo posted a double-double of 17 kills and 16 digs ... Molly O’Hagan added 11 kills, while Julia Bowen had 10 ... Fernanda Gonçalves was just shy of a double-double, finishing with 41 assists and nine digs, while Mariah Alvidrez had a match-high 18 digs ... Against the Broncs, O’Hagan led all players with 16 kills, while Araujo posted a double-double of 14 kills and 12 digs ... Gonçalves also doubled up with 39 assists and 11 digs, while Alvidrez had a team-high 15 digs ... As a team, Bakersfield ranks 16th nationally in assists (13.44) and 25th in kills (14.16) ... Alvidrez ranks second in the WAC and 34th nationally in digs (5.02) ... The Roadrunners play the winner of the Seattle U/Utah Valley match in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament on Tuesday.
CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (2-29, 0-16 WAC)
The Cougars closed out the season with losses to Idaho (25-18, 19-25, 20-25, 16-25) and Seattle U (13-25, 25-27, 25-22, 17-25) ... Against the Vandals, Paula Sioto had a match-high 21 kills, while Valeria Desiderio had a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs and Julia Menhart had a match-high 17 digs ... Against the Redhawks, Desiderio had 15 kills, while Sioto added 14 ... Mackenzie Lotter finished with 36 assists and Menhart had a match-high 22 digs ... Sioto, who ranks second in the WAC in kills (3.66) and points (4.08), recorded double-digit kills in 16 of the Cougars’ last 20 matches ... Lotter ranks sixth in the conference in assists (9.06) ... Menhart ranks fifth in the WAC in service aces (0.30) and ninth in digs (3.16), while Mia Townsell is seventh in service aces (0.27) and 10th in digs (2.93) ... Sioto’s 392 kills this season were the most since Stacey Cole had 402 kills in 2003 ... The 20 sets won by the Cougars this season are the most since the 2007 season.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (12-19, 4-12 WAC)
The Antelopes fell to Bakersfield (16-25, 22-25, 28-30) and Idaho (17-25, 25-14, 17-25, 16-25), then defeated Abilene Christian (18-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-19) and Incarnate Word (25-16, 20-25, 25-22, 25-15) to close out the season ... Against the Roadrunners, Shannon Dugan posted a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs ... Against the Vandals, Dugan again doubled up with 21 kills and 15 digs, while Mackenzie Phelps had a match-high 25 digs ... Against the Wildcats, Dugan posted a match-high 21 kills to go along with 12 digs, while Jessica Posse also doubled up with a match-high 35 assists to go along with 15 digs ... Phelps had a match-best 35 digs ... Against the Crusaders, Dugan posted her seventh double-double of the season with a match-best 19 kills to go with 12 digs and four blocks ... Posse had a double-double of 29 assists and 14 digs, while Phelps had a match-high 25 digs ... Grand Canyon will host the WAC Tournament, despite not being eligible to participate.
IDAHO VANDALS (18-10, 11-5 WAC)
The Vandals defeated Grand Canyon in four sets (25-17, 14-25, 25-17, 25-16) last Thursday to close out the regular season ... Jessica Hastriter had 14 kills, while Katelyn Peterson added a double-double of 13 kills and 12 digs ... Taylor Wilkinson finished with 11 kills, while Alyssa Schultz added 10 kills and seven blocks ... Meredith Coba had a match-high 48 assists, while Jenna Ellis posted a team-high 19 digs ... Idaho leads the league in hitting percentage (.247), ranks third in kills (12.60) and service aces (1.26), and fourth in assists (11.56) and blocks (2.41) ... Schultz leads the WAC and ranks 41st nationally in hitting percentage (.378) ... Schultz also ranks fourth in the WAC in blocks (1.20) and ninth in points (3.24) ... Coba ranks second in the league in assists (10.15), Hastriter is third in kills (3.05) and Ellis is fifth in digs (3.97) ... The fourth-seeded Vandals face No. 5 seed Kansas City in the first round of the WAC Tournament Monday.
KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (15-13, 9-7 WAC)
The Kangaroos closed out the regular season Nov. 14 and 16 with a win over Seattle U (25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16) and a loss to Idaho (20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 22-25) ... Against the Redhawks, Sydney Crimmins led the ‘Roos with 14 kills, while Taryn Miller had a match-high 30 digs ... Against the Vandals, Jessica Hendin had 15 kills, while Kaylyn Brandt posted a double-double of 26 assists and 13 digs, and Miller had a match-high 24 digs ... The Kangaroos finished with a winning record in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history ... Miller’s 526 digs this season rank as the fifth-most in school history, while her 1,066 career digs rank sixth ... The ‘Roos rank 12th in the nation in blocks (2.88) and 44th in digs (16.33) ... Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC and ranks 30th nationally in blocks (1.34) ... Hagedorn’s 143 total blocks this season rank second all-time at UMKC ... The fifth-seeded ‘Roos face No. 4 Idaho in the first round of the WAC Tournament on Monday ... Kansas City swept the regular-season series with the Vandals.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (20-10, 14-2 WAC)
The Aggies swept Utah Valley (25-18, 25-18, 25-20) Thursday to close out the regular season ... Desiree Scott had nine kills on .583 hitting, while Gwen Murphy had nine kills on .467 hitting. Both players had five blocks apiece ... Mike Jordan won his third WAC Coach of the Year honor ... NM State won its second WAC regular-season title since joining the league in 2005, but its first outright title as it shared the title with Hawai‘i in 2008 ... The Aggies lead the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.139), rank second in hitting percentage (.226), assists (11.89), kills (12.94) and blocks (2.59) ... Scott ranks second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.363), third in both blocks (1.29) and points (3.50), and ninth in kills (2.60) ... Nationally, the Aggies rank 43rd as a team and Scott is 40th individually in blocks per set ... Top-seeded New Mexico State faces the winner of the Kansas City/Idaho match in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament on Tuesday.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (12-19, 9-7 WAC)
The Redhawks closed out the regular season with a loss at Kansas City (17-25, 25-21, 18-25, 16-25) on Nov. 14 and a win over Chicago State (25-13, 27-25, 22-25, 25-17) on Nov. 16 ... Against the ‘Roos, Sarah Jaeckel had a double-double of 14 kills and 11 digs, while Martina Samadan had 10 kills, and Kerry Lane added 41 assists and nine digs ... Against the Cougars, Matea Mamic had 15 kills, while Samadan added 11 ... Lane dished out 40 assists, while Lani Beadle had a team-high 13 digs and Stephanie Stoll had 10 blocks ... With five blocks last week, Allison Farley moved into a tie for third place on Seattle U’s all-time blocks list with 297 ... Lane is just seven assists away from becoming the fifth player in Redhawk history to reach the 1,000-assist mark in a single season ... Iris Ivanis ranks fourth in the WAC in kills (3.00) and points (3.44), and sixth in service aces (0.27) ... The No. 6 seed Redhawks face third-seeded Utah Valley in the first round of the WAC Tournament on Monday.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (13-20, 2-14 WAC)
The Broncs fell in straight sets to Bakersfield (20-25, 20-25, 20-25) last Wednesday to close out the season ... Haley Durham led UTPA with 10 kills, while Shanice Faison had a match-high 16 digs and Alisha Watson had a career-high five blocks ... Nycole Masaki finished with 29 assists to move her career total to 2,028, the third-most in program history ... Masaki finished the season with 1,073 assists, tied for the fourth-most in a single-season in program history ... As a team, UTPA leads the WAC and ranks 52nd nationally in service aces (1.45) ... Masaki ranks second in the WAC in service aces per set (0.34), while Krysta Freitas is fourth (0.29) ... Maria Kliefoth ranks eighth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.275), while Nausheen Merchant is seventh in digs (3.23) ... The Broncs rank second in the WAC in average attendance (652) and third in the conference in total attendance (7,176) ... The 13 wins this season are the most since the Broncs had 15 victories in 2007.
UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (18-14, 11-5 WAC)
The Wolverines fell in straight sets at New Mexico State (18-25, 18-25, 20-25) last Thursday to close out the regular season ... Lauren Stringham had 10 kills and five blocks, while Brookelyn Hall posted her 10th double-double of the year with 24 assists and 11 digs ... McKenna Tait leads the WAC and ranks 15th nationally with 0.45 service aces a set ... She is also fourth in the WAC in digs (4.18) ... Stringham ranks second in the WAC and 32nd nationally with 1.33 bocks per set ... She is also seventh in the conference in hitting percentage (.275) ... Hall ranks third in the WAC in assists (9.49), while Kalani Norris is seventh in kills (2.82) and 10th in points (3.17) ... As a team, the Wolverines rank third in the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.189) and blocks (2.42), and fourth in hitting percentage (.213) and aces (1.25) ... The third-seeded Wolverines face No. 6 Seattle U in the first round of the WAC Tournament Monday.