UTAH VALLEY’S HALL NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley senior setter Brookelyn Hall has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Gilbert, Ariz., native not only helped the Wolverines to a pair two victories last week, but she also set the school record for career assists with 4,103. Hall averaged 11.57 assists, 3.14 digs, 0.86 kills and 0.86 blocks and set her team to a .298 hitting percentage for the week. In a sweep over in-state rival Southern Utah to open the week, she recorded a match-high 33 assists, five kills on five attempts with no errors for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage, four blocks and four digs. In a crucial WAC road win over Kansas City on Saturday, Hall dished out a match-high 48 assists and picked up a career-best 18 digs for her team-leading seventh double-double of the year. She became the program leader in assists early in the first set, passing assistant coach Lacee Jones’ previous mark of 4,057.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield’s Debora Araujo averaged 4.62 kills and 2.62 digs per set as the Roadrunners went 1-1 on the week ... Hayleigh Friemoth of Grand Canyon averaged a WAC-best 5.33 kills to go along with 3.67 digs in a sweep of Chicago State ... Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz averaged 2.25 kills on .405 hitting, 1.12 blocks and 0.75 digs per set as the Vandals went 1-1 on the week ... Sydney Crimmins of Kansas City averaged 2.33 kills, 3.78 digs and 1.11 blocks per set as the Kangaroos went 1-1 last week ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy averaged 3.00 kills on .647 hitting, 1.25 blocks and 0.62 digs per set as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week ... Sarah Jaeckel of Seattle U averaged 3.63 kills and 2.00 digs per set as the Redhawks went 1-1 on the week ... Texas-Pan American’s Haley Durham averaged 3.12 kills, 0.62 blocks, 0.50 digs and 0.38 service aces per set on the week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.40) and kills (14.01), while New Mexico State is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.150) and Grand Canyon leads the league in digs (17.20). Meanwhile, Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.240), Kansas City leads the league in blocks (2.99) and Texas-Pan American is tops in service aces (1.49).
Individually, Bakersfield’s Debora Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.86) and points (4.37), while teammate Fernanda Gonçalves leads the league in assists (10.09). Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.370) and Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait is tops in service aces (0.42). Kansas City’s Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in blocks (1.37), while Grand Canyon’s Mackenzie Phelps is tops in digs (5.50).
In WAC matches only, New Mexico State leads the league in hitting percentage (.267), opponent hitting percentage (.118) and blocks (3.02). Bakersfield is tops in assists (13.04), kills (13.63) and service aces (1.54), while Grand Canyon is tops in digs (17.92).
Individually in WAC matches, Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.478), while Bakersfield’s Araujo is tops in kills (3.93) and points (4.49). Gonçalves leads the league in assists (11.33), while Tait is tops in service aces (0.47). Utah Valley’s Lauren Stringham is tops in blocks (1.49), while Phelps leads the WAC in digs (5.22).
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 4,103 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 301-257 (.539) 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.
In addition, with 1,706 career digs, Phelps is 24 shy of the school’s all-time record of 1,730 set by Laurann Durbin (2008-11).
WOLVERINES’ TAIT CLOSE TO SCHOOL SERVICE ACES RECORD
Utah Valley junior libero McKenna Tait, who currently leads the WAC in both service aces (43) and service aces per set (0.42), has 131 career service aces. Tait is just five 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 includes 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.
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 (16-10, 8-4 WAC)
The Roadruuners fell in five sets (20-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 9-15) to Kansas City last Thursday, then swept (25-18, 27-25, 25-8) Chicago State on Saturday ... Against Kansas City, Debora Araujo had her 10th double-double of the year with 26 kills and 16 digs ... Bakersfield rallied from 24-20 down in the second set at Chicago State to win 27-25 ... Araujo, Kelsee Sawyer and Molly O’Hagan all hit .500 or better against Chicago State as the Roadrunners set the school record for highest hitting percentage (.434) in a three-set match at the Division I level ... As a team, Bakersfield ranks 15th nationally in assists (13.40) and 31st in kills (14.01) ... Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.86) and points (4.37), while Sawyer ranks fourth in kills (3.10) and fifth in points (3.53) ... Fernanda Gonçalves leads the WAC in assists (10.09), while Mariah Alvidrez ranks second in digs (4.96) ... The Roadrunners host Grand Canyon on Saturday in their only match this week.
CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (2-24, 0-11 WAC)
The Cougars fell to Valparaiso (22-25, 23-25, 18-25), Grand Canyon (20-25, 18-25, 21-25) and Bakersfield (18-25, 25-27, 8-25) last week ... Against the Crusaders, Paula Sioto led all players with 12 kills, while Julia Menhart had a match-high 13 digs ... Mackenzie Lotter had 32 assists, while Valeria Desiderio fell just short of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs ... Against the Antelopes, Sioto had 12 kills, while Lotter had 32 assists and Menhart had a match-high 22 digs ... Sioto, who ranks second in the WAC in kills (3.52) and points (3.96), has recorded double-digit kills in 13 of the Cougars’ last 17 matches ... Lotter ranks sixth in the WAC in assists (9.02), while Mia Townsell is fourth in service aces (0.33) and Menhart is sixth (0.30) ... Sioto has 310 kills so far this season, the most Stacey Cole had 402 kills in 2003 ... Chicago State hosts Utah Valley on Monday, then plays at Texas-Pan American on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (9-14, 3-7 WAC)
The Antelopes swept Chicago State (25-20, 25-18, 25-21) last Thursday in their only match of the week ... Hayleigh Friemoth led all players with a season-high-tying 16 kills to go along with 11 digs for her third double-double of the season ... Mackenzie Phelps had 17 digs, while Megan Davis added 15 ... In just her second start, redshirt freshman middle blocker Megan Byrnes had six blocks, including two solos ... The WAC’s active leader in career digs, Phelps has 1,706 and is 24 shy of the program record ... Phelps leads the league in digs (5.50), while Davis is 10th (2.80) ... Kaitlynn Ausmus ranks 10th in the WAC in kills (2.67) ... As a team, Grand Canyon leads the conference in digs (17.20) and ranks third in opponent hitting percentage (.189) ... The Antelopes host New Mexico State on Monday, then play their final road matches of the season at Utah Valley on Thursday and at Bakersfield on Saturday.
IDAHO VANDALS (14-10, 7-5 WAC)
The Vandals fell to New Mexico State (25-14, 17-25, 19-25, 22-25) last Thursday before defeating Texas-Pan American (22-25, 25-18, 25-9, 25-19) on Saturday ... Against the Aggies, Jessica Hastriter had 13 kills, while Meredith Coba was just shy of a double-double with 35 assists and nine digs ... Ashley Christman had five service aces ... Against the Broncs, Ashley Christman had 13 kills, while Hastriter added 12 ... Meredith Coba had 42 assists, while Jenna Ellis had 18 digs ... Idaho leads the league in hitting percentage (.240) ... Alyssa Schultz leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.370), 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 Seattle U on Friday in its only match this week.
KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (13-11, 7-5 WAC)
The Kangaroos defeated Bakersfield in five sets (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 15-9) last Thursday before falling to Utah Valley (25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 21-25) on Saturday ... Against Bakersfield, Sydney Crimmins recorded her team-leading seventh double-double of the season with 13 kills and a career-high 20 digs ... Against the Wolverines, Kaylyn Brandt posted a double-double of 21 assists and 15 digs, while Emma Hagedorn had a match-high six blocks and Taryn Miller had 17 digs ... Hagedorn is six block assists shy of the school record for blocks assists in a season (117), while her 219 career block assists are already 10th best in school history ... Miller’s 440 digs this season currently rank as the seventh-most in school history, while the sophomore already ranks eighth in career digs (980) ... The ‘Roos rank fifth in the nation in blocks (2.99) and 32nd in digs (16.37) ... Hagedorn leads the WAC and ranks 21st nationally in blocks (1.37), while Miller is third in the WAC and 50th nationally in digs (4.84) ... The ‘Roos play at New Mexico State on Thursday and at Texas-Pan American on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (15-10, 10-2 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Idaho (14-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22) last Thursday and Seattle U (23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-13) on Saturday ... Against the vandals, Preslie Alexander had a career-high 18 kills, while Gwen Murphy added 13 ... Taylor Livoti posted 28 assists and 13 digs for her ninth double-double of the year ... Against the Redhawks, Bradley Nash had 13 kills, while Murphy added 11 and Alexander had 10 ... Murphy and Lauren Loerch also had seven blocks apiece ... As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.150), rank second in hitting percentage (.221), kills (12.61) and blocks (2.52), and third in assists (11.59) ... Desiree Scott ranks second in the WAC in hitting percentage (.359), third in blocks (1.24) and eighth in points (3.36), while Alexander is fourth in hitting percentage (.310) and Murphy is ninth (.260) ... Stephanie Ziegler is ninth in digs (3.17) ... The Aggies play at Grand Canyon on Monday, then host Kansas City on Thursday and Chicago State on Saturday.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (11-17, 8-5 WAC)
The Redhawks defeated Texas-Pan American (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) last Thursday, then fell to New Mexico State (25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 13-25) on Saturday ... Against the Broncs, Sarah Jaeckel had 14 kills, while Iris Ivanis added 12 ... Kerry Lane finished with 36 assists, while Lani Beadle had 15 digs ... Against the Aggies, Jaeckel had a career-high 15 kills to go along with eight digs, while Ivanis had 14 kills and three service aces ... With three matches remaining in WAC play, the Redhawks have doubled their WAC win total from the entire 2012 conference schedule ... Beadle became the sixth player in Seattle U history to reach 1,000 career digs in the win over UTPA. She now has 1,019 on her career ... Ivanis ranks sixth in the WAC in kills (3.00) and points (3.44), and ninth in service aces (0.27) ... Lane is fourth in the WAC in assists (9.32), while Beadle is seventh in digs (3.33) ... The Redhawks play at Idaho on Friday in their only match this week.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (11-17, 1-11 WAC)
The Broncs fell to Seattle U (18-25, 25-23, 20-25, 17-25) last Thursday and to Idaho (25-22, 18-25, 9-25, 19-25) on Saturday ... Against the Redhawks, Haley Durham had 14 kills, while Anjane Janda added 11 ... Nycole Masaki dished out a match-high 41 assists, while Shanice Faison had 14 digs ... Against the Vandals, Durham and Alisha Watson had 11 kills each, while Maria Kliefoth added 10 ... UTPA leads the WAC and ranks 51st in the nation with 1.49 service aces per set ... The Broncs also rank fourth in the WAC in digs (13.95) ... Krysta Freitas ranks second in the WAC in service aces (0.34), while Masaki is third (0.33) ... Masaki also ranks fifth in assists (9.05), while Kliefoth is sixth in hitting percentage (.285) ... Nausheen Merchant ranks eighth in the conference in digs (3.23) ... The Broncs, which have been eliminated from contention for the WAC Tournament, host Texas Southern on Wednesday, Chicago State on Thursday and Kansas City on Saturday.
UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (15-12, 8-3 WAC)
The Wolverines swept Southern Utah (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) and defeated Kansas City (22-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21) last week ... Utah Valley hit a program-record .543 against the Thunderbirds ... Against Southern Utah, Kalani Norris had a match-high 13 kills on .722 hitting, while Brookelyn 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 ... Against UMKC, Norris had a match-high 18 kills to go along with 12 digs for her third double-double of the season, while Hall also doubled up with 48 assists and a career-high 18 digs ... Hall set the school record for career assists early in the match against Kansas City and now had 4,103 ... The Wolverines have now won three in a row and 14 of their last 18 matches ... McKenna Tait looks to overtake the school career service aces record, as she is five shy of the record (136) set by Kat Stevens (2007-10).... Utah Valley plays at Chicago State on Monday, then hosts Grand Canyon on Thursday.