NEW MEXICO STATE TO FACE ARIZONA IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
New Mexico State travels to San Diego to face Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6. This is New Mexico State’s seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and second in a row.
Arizona (20-12) earned an at-large bid out of the Pacific-12 Conference. The Wildcats tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with a 10-10 conference mark. The Aggie-Wildcat match-up will include a dose of sibling rivalry, as New Mexico State assistant coach Keith Rubio is the brother of Arizona head coach Dave Rubio.
NEW MEXICO STATE WINS SECOND STRAIGHT WAC TOURNAMENT
The Aggies defeated Idaho in five sets in the semifinals and swept Bakersfield in the championship match to capture their second consecutive WAC Tournament title at Grand Canyon Arena last week. Desiree Scott was named WAC Tournament MVP after averaging 3.00 kills on .477 hitting and 1.88 blocks per set over the two matches.
All-Tournament Team
Debora Araujo, Bakersfield
Ciara Brown, New Mexico State
Fernanda Gonçalves, Bakersfield
Bradley Nash, New Mexico State
Martina Samadan, Seattle U
Alyssa Schultz, Idaho
Stephanie Ziegler, New Mexico State
MVP: Desiree Scott, New Mexico State
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).
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, as it shared the 2008 title with Hawai‘i.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (21-12, 12-4 WAC)
The second-seeded Roadruuners defeated Seattle U (26-28, 25-15, 25-15, 25-19) before falling in straight sets to New Mexico State in the championship match of the WAC Tournament (9-25, 12-25, 16-25) to close out the season ... Against the Redhawks, Debora Araujo posted a double-double of 21 kills and 14 digs ... Kelsee Sawyer added 15 kills, while Fernanda Gonçalves finished with 48 assists and eight digs, and Mariah Alvidrez had a match-high 20 digs ... Against the Aggies, Araujo and Molly O’Hagan had six kills each, while Gonçalves finished with 20 assists and Alvidrez had a match-high 20 digs ... Araujo and Gonçalves were named to the all-tournament team ... Alvidrez ranks second in the WAC and 37th nationally in digs (4.99) ... Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.90) and points (4.37), while Gonçalves is tops in assists (10.30) ... As a team, Bakersfield leads the WAC and ranks 20th nationally in assists (13.33), and leads the WAC and ranks 33rd in the nation in kills (14.03).
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 hosted the WAC Tournament, despite not being eligible to participate.
IDAHO VANDALS (19-11, 11-5 WAC)
The Vandals swept Kansas City (25-19, 25-14, 25-15) in the opening round of the WAC Tournament before falling in five sets to New Mexico State (29-27, 24-26, 28-26, 12-25, 12-15) in the semifinals ... Against the Kangaroos, Katelyn Peterson led Idaho with 11 kills, while Alyssa Schultz and Jessica Hastriter added seven apiece ... Meredith Coba finished with 33 assists and eight digs ... Against the Aggies, Hastriter had 15 kills, while Ali Forde added 13, Ashley Christman had 12 and Schultz had 11 to go along with eight blocks ... Coba posted a double-double of 49 assists and 15 digs ... Schultz was named to the all-tournament team ... Idaho leads the league in hitting percentage (.245), and ranks third in kills (12.58), blocks (2.47) and service aces (1.28) ... Schultz ranks 40th nationally in hitting percentage (.374) and ranks fourth in the WAC in blocks (1.22) ... Coba ranks second in the league in assists (10.16), while Hastriter is fourth in kills (3.03) and 10th in points (3.24).
KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (15-14, 9-7 WAC)
The Kangaroos fell in straight sets to Idaho (19-25, 14-25, 15-25) in the first round of the WAC Tournament to close out the season ... Jessica Hendin posted a match-high 14 kills to go along with seven digs ... Kaylyn Brandt and Nicole Wemhoff dished out 14 assists each, while Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller had 11 digs apiece ... The Kangaroos finished with a winning record in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history ... Miller’s 537 digs this season rank as the fifth-most in school history, while her 1,077 career digs rank sixth ... The ‘Roos rank 18th in the nation in blocks (2.82) and 51st in digs (16.28) ... Kansas City also ranked second in the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.183), third in assists (11.60) and fourth in kills (12.31) ... Emma Hagedorn ranks third in the WAC and 37th nationally in blocks (1.31) ... Hagedorn’s 144 total blocks this season rank second all-time at UMKC ... Miller ranks third in the WAC in digs (4.88), while Melissa Hartsel ranks seventh in blocks (1.01) and Crimmins ranks eighth in points (3.35).
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (22-10, 14-2 WAC)
The Aggies defeated Idaho in five sets (27-29, 26-24, 26-28, 25-12, 15-12) in the semifinals before sweeping Bakersfield (25-9, 25-12, 25-16) in the championship match to claim their second-consecutive WAC Tournament title ... Desiree Scott was named tournament MVP, while Ciara Brown, Bradley Nash and Stephanie Ziegler were all named to the all-tournament team ... NM State captured 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 (.137), and rank second in hitting percentage (.227), assists (11.85), kills (12.90) and blocks (2.64) ... Scott leads the WAC in blocks (1.33), ranks third in hitting percentage (.372), fourth in points (3.53) and 10th in kills (2.62) ... The Aggies rank 39th as a team and Scott is 26th individually in blocks per set ... New Mexico State travels to San Diego to face Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (13-20, 9-7 WAC)
The Redhawks defeated Utah Valley in five sets (25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-13) in the first round of the WAC Tournament before falling to Bakersfield in the semifinals (28-26, 15-25, 15-25, 19-25) to close out the season ... Against the Wolverines, Iris Ivanis had a match-high 18 kills to go along with 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season ... Martina Samadan also posted a double-double of 14 kills and 10 blocks ... Kerry Lane had 51 assists, seven kills, seven digs and five blocks, while Lani Beadle had 22 digs ... Against the Roadrunners, Samadan led the team with 14 kills and five blocks, while Lane tallied 32 assists and eight digs ... Allison Farley closed out her career with 302 blocks, good for third place all-time at Seattle U ... Lane finished with 1,076 assists this season, the fifth-most in a single season in program history ... Samadan leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.416), ranks second in both points (4.16) and service aces (0.35), third in kills (3.24) and eighth in blocks (1.00).
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (13-20, 2-14 WAC)
The Broncs fell in straight sets to Bakersfield (20-25, 20-25, 20-25) 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 (18-15, 11-5 WAC)
The Wolverines fell in five sets to Seattle U (21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-25, 13-15) in the first round of the WAC Tournament to close out the season ... Cassie Wahlin led Utah Valley with 11 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season ... Lauren Stringham added 11 kills and four blocks, while Brookelyn Hall finished with 41 assists and nine digs ... McKenna Tait had a match-high 27 digs ... Tait leads the WAC and ranks 14th nationally with 0.45 service aces a set ... She is also fourth in the WAC in digs (4.23) ... Stringham ranks second in the WAC and 36th nationally with 1.31 bocks per set ... She is also ninth in the conference in hitting percentage (.272) ... Hall ranks third in the WAC in assists (9.44), while Kalani Norris is eighth in kills (2.78) ... As a team, the Wolverines rank third in the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.189), and fourth in hitting percentage (.209), blocks (2.38) and aces (1.23).
WAC STAT LEADERS
Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.33) and kills (14.03), while Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.245) and New Mexico State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.137). Meanwhile, Kansas City leads the league in blocks (2.82), 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 (4.37), while teammate Fernanda Gonçalves leads the league in assists (10.30). Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.416) and Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait is tops in service aces (0.45). New Mexico State’s Desiree Scott leads the WAC in blocks (1.33), 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 led the WAC in both service aces (55) 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 143 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 128, surpassing Julie Mohrfeld, who had 116 in 1999. Hagedorn also ranked second in total blocks in a season with 144, just 10 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 closed out her career with 4,291 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.
REGIONAL, SEMIFINAL/CHAMPIONSHIP SITES SELECTED
The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee announced the following sites for regional and semifinal/championship competition of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships.
Regionals (4): Dec. 13-14, 2013
Host: University of Southern California
Galen Center
Los Angeles
Host: University of Kentucky
Memorial Coliseum
Lexington, Ky.
Host: University of Illinois
State Farm Center
Champaign, Ill.
Host: University of Nebraska
Bob Devaney Sports Center
Lincoln, Neb.
Semifinals and Championship: Dec. 19 and 21, 2013
Co-Hosts: University of Washington and Seattle Sports Commission
Key Arena
Seattle, Wash.