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This Week in WAC Volleyball - Aug. 27

This Week in WAC Volleyball - Aug. 27

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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. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

The Aggies earned 62 total points, followed by Idaho with 58. Utah Valley was picked to finish 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.

2013 PERSONNEL CAPSULE
Six of the nine schools return at least four of their starters from last year for the 2013 campaign. Bakersfield returns seven starters, including the libero, while Kansas City and New Mexico State return six each. Bakersfield and NM State return 10 letterwinners apiece, while Kansas City returns nine. The following is a breakdown of each team’s letterwinners returning and lost and starters returning and lost.

Team LR LL SR SL
Bakersfield 10 0 7 0
Chicago State 6 5 4 3
Grand Canyon 6 7 3 4
Idaho 7 6 2 5
Kansas City 9 4 6 1
New Mexico State 10 2 6 1
Seattle U 6 6 3 4
Texas-Pan American 7 4 4 3
Utah Valley 8 7 5 2

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. 20 (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. 21 (Championship)
Match 5 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 5 p.m.

TOP STAT LEADERS
The following are the returning statistical leaders from the 2012 season.  In hitting efficiency, two of the top 10 hitters are back, led by New Mexico State’s Desiree Scott (.369) and Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz (.340), who ranked second and fourth, respectively, a year ago. Two of the top blockers return, led by Schultz and Scott, who ranked second and fifth, respectively, in the WAC with 1.42 and 1.23 blocks per set.

NM State’s Taylor Livoti, who ranked second in the WAC with 0.32 service aces per set, and Seattle U’s Lani Beadle, who ranked second in the WAC with 4.21 digs per set are the lone returners in each category.

In addition, several newcomers to the WAC ranked in the top 10 in various statistical categories in their respective conferences last year. UMKC’s Taryn Miller led The Summit League in service aces (0.30) and ranked seventh in digs (4.74). Teammates Nicole Wemhoff ranked fifth in assists (6.42), while Emma Hagedorn was seventh in blocks (0.90) and eighth in hitting percentage (.264).

Lauren Stringham of Utah Valley led the Great West Conference in blocks (1.45) and ranked second in hitting percentage (.299). McKenna Tait led the Great West in service aces (0.36) and ranked eighth in digs (3.17), while setter Brookelyn Hall ranked second in assists (9.42) and fourth in service aces (0.29). Kalani Norris ranked sixth in hitting percentage (.225) and eighth in kills (2.44), while teammate Katie Fritzler was seventh in hitting percentage (.217).

Texas-Pan American’s Nycole Masaki ranked third in the Great West in assists (8.68) and sixth in service aces (0.27). Haley Durham was eighth in hitting percentage (.215), Diara Reynolds was ninth in kills (2.41) and Krysta Freitas was ninth in digs (2.81).

Chicago State’s Mysta Townsell was fourth in the Great West in digs (4.03), while her sister and teammate Mia Townsell ranked sixth in digs (3.53) and 10th in service aces (0.25).

Kristen Johannsen of Grand Canyon ranked second in the Pacific West Conference in blocks (1.26) and ninth in hitting percentage (.298). Her teammate Mackenzie Phelps led the league in digs (5.95).

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Of the 12 first team All-WAC players in 2012, two return for the 2013 season, led by Preseason Player of the Year Alyssa Schultz of Idaho. Also returning from the first team is Desiree Scott of New Mexico State.

New Mexico State’s Lauren Loerch is the lone returner from the second team, while Katelyn Peterson of Idaho returns after being named to the All-Freshman Team last year.

Returning all-conference honorees from other conferences include Mackenzie Phelps of Grand Canyon, who was a first team All-Pacific West Conference selection in addition to repeating as Libero of the Year. Teammate Kristen Johannsen was named to the third team.

Emma Hagedorn of Kansas City was named to All Summit League honorable mention and to the All-Freshmen Team.

Utah Valley’s Lauren Stringham was named Great West Conference Freshman of the Year, first team All-Great West and to the All-Newcomer Team. Teammate Brookelyn Hall was also a first team selection, while Kalani Norris was named to the second team.

Texas Pan-American’s Nycole Masaki was named second team All-Great West and to the to All-Newcomer Team, where she was joined by teammate Haley Durham.

Chicago State’s Mysta Townsell was named second team All-Great West Conference.

BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield spent the last six seasons as a Division I Independent ... The Roadrunners return all six starters plus the libero from last year’s team that went 14-17 ... Bakersfield has 18 players on the roster from five different countries and five different states ... Debora Araujo led the Roadrunners in kills (475), while Fernanda Gonçalves was the team leader in assists (1,161) ... Araujo and Gonçalves are both from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and played together at Western Nebraska Community College before joining the Roadrunners in 2012 ... Mariah Alvidrez led the team in digs (380) last season ... Danika Youngblood leads the four newcomers to the Bakersfield program. A first team All-American as a sophomore at Western Nebraska Community College, she was a teammate of Araujo and Conçalves at Western Nebraska as a freshman ... The Roadruuners open the season at the Wildcat Classic this weekend in Davidson, N.C., where they will face Charlotte, Charlston Southern and host Davidson.

CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Redshirt senior Rachel Levitt returns to the Cougars in 2013 after an injury forced her to redshirt in 2012. Levitt was an All-Great West Conference Newcomer Team selection in 2011 after recording 257 kills ... Chicago State is led defensively by the Townsell sisters. Senior Mysta (427) and junior Mia (374) led the Cougars in digs last season ... Mysta Townsell earned a Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor Sept. 22 of last year after a 38-dig performance at Wright State on Sept. 18 ... The 2013 season will be the first for a Chicago State volleyball team in a conference with an NCAA automatic bid since 2005 ... The Cougars will play seven matches in Chicago over the first eight days of the season ... Toby Rens is the first head coach in program history to have previous NCAA Division I head coaching experience ... The Cougars open the season at the DePaul Invitational this weekend, where they will face McNeese State, Providence and host DePaul.

GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Antelopes had the program’s second-best winning percentage  (.800) last year by going 24-6 and reaching the NCAA II West Region semifinals ... Libero Mackenzie Phelps ranked 10th in NCAA Division II in digs per set (5.95) last season. She was a Daktronics, Inc., third team All-American and set a school record with 661 digs ... Middle blocker Kristen Johannsen, who ranked 18th nationally in blocks per set (1.26), set a school single-match record with 13 block assists vs. San Francisco State in the NCAA West Regional ... Grand Canyon is scheduled to play seven of its 12 home matches at GCU Arena. The Antelopes are 5-0 all-time in the building. The remaining home games will be played at Antelope Gymnasium ... Though ineligible to play in the postseason due to the school’s transition into NCAA Division I, the Antelopes will host the WAC Volleyball Tournament ... GCU opens the season at the Wildcat Invitational in Ogden, Utah, where it will face host Weber State and Texas Tech.

IDAHO VANDALS  (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho lost six letterwinners, including four starters and the libero, from the 2012 team, which reached the WAC championship match for the first time ... Idaho has finished second in the WAC in two consecutive seasons ... The Vandals started the 2012 season 3-10 before going 14-4 the rest of the year ... The Vandals bring back two players who earned All-WAC honors in 2012, as first team All-WAC middle blocker Alyssa Schultz and 2012 WAC All-Freshman pick Katelyn Peterson return ... The junior Schultz was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year ... Six newcomers join the Vandals in 2013, including three freshmen and three transfers ... Idaho is 80-48 (.625) in WAC matches since joining the league in 2005 ... Idaho’s 3.00 blocks per set during WAC matches led the league in 2012 ... The Vandals open the season this weekend at the  Wyoming Invitational, where they will face Montana State, host Wyoming, Drake and Stetson.

KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore Emma Hagedorn was named to the Summit League All-Freshman Team, Summit League Honorable Mention and Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 22, while recording the seventh highest single season hitting percentage (.264) in school history ... Chloe Jarema returns for her fourth season in the Blue & Gold as the team’s only senior ... Sophomore Skyler Muff was named to the all-tournament teams at both the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic and the Runnin’ Bulldog Classic ... Sophomore Taryn Miller was named to the UniWyo Cowgirl Classic, while recording the fourth most digs in a single season (540) in school history ... Junior Melissa Hartsel joins the ‘Roos this season after spending her first two seasons at Missouri ... Kansas City welcomes five newcomers, including four freshmen ... The ‘Roos return five starters and their libero, with all six staring as freshmen in 2012 ...  ... The ‘Roos open the season this weekend at the Arkansas Invitational, where they will face New Mexico, Northwestern State and host Arkansas.

NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies have 16 home matches this season, the second-most ever played in Las Cruces, N.M. ... Three players earned All-WAC honors last season. The Aggies also had three preseason All-WAC selections, three WAC All-Tournament selections and one WAC Player of the Week in 2012 ... NM State has posted 20 or more wins in 10 of the last 11 seasons ... Although the Aggies entered the 2012 WAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, they won three straight matches to win the WAC Tournament title, becoming the lowest seed ever to do so ... NM State earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to nationally ranked BYU in the first round in Provo, Utah ... Mike Jordan has coached 23 all-tournament selections since the Aggies began playing in the WAC in 2005 ... The Aggies open the season this weekend at the Cal Molten Classic in Berkeley, Calif., where they will face Nevada, host Cal and UC Santa Barbara.

SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
A new era begins for Seattle U volleyball as James Finley takes over as head coach this season ... Six letterwinners are back for the Redhawks, which finished ninth in the WAC in 2012 with a 4-14 league record after splitting 10 non-conference matches ... Lani Beadle, the team leader in digs with 467 last season, decided to return for one more year and will be one of four seniors on the 2013 squad ... The other seniors for the Redhawks are Sarah Jaeckel, who ranked second on the team in kills last year with 253, Allison Farley, the team leader in total blocks with 74, and Karli Pedone, who is coming off her best season as a Redhawk with 133 kills in 79 sets ... Among the six newcomers to the squad is sophomore Martina Samadan, who followed Finley from VCU after finishing fourth in the country last season with 1.67 blocks per set ... The Redhawks open the season this weekend at the Wildcat Invitational, where they will face Texas Tech, host Weber State and UC Riverside.

TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Texas-Pan American ranked 50th in the nation in service aces per set last season at 1.40 ... UTPA posted a five-match winning streak from Sept. 21-29 ... Maria Kliefoth, Sarah Davis and Juri Franzen each earned Great West Conference Player of the Week honors ... Diara Reynolds was named to the Great West Conference All-Tournament Team ... Nycole Masaki and Franzen were both Great West Conference second team selections ... Franzen ranked 79th in the NCAA in digs per set (4.82), while Masaki was 186th in assists per set (8.76) and 246th in aces per set (0.28) ... Haley Durham earned UTPA Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors after breaking the program record for 20+ dig performances with 16 and finishing her career in the Top 10 for career digs (960) ... UTPA’s 10 wins last season were the most since 2007 ... The Broncs open the season this weekend at the Houston Baptist Tournament, where they will face Louisiana, Omaha and host Houston Baptist.

UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES  (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
UVU returns three All-Great West Conference players from a year ago, including last year’s Freshman of the Year Lauren Stringham ... Stringham and senior setter Brookelyn Hall were both first team all-conference selections, while junior outside hitter Kalani Norris was a member of the second team ... The Wolverines won back-to-back Great West Conference titles the last two years and went an impressive 35-7 in four years of play in the GWC ... The Wolverines defeated Utah State – the 2012 WAC regular season champions – for the third straight meeting last year on the same day that UVU accepted an invitation to join the WAC (Oct. 9, 2012) ... UVU won a school record 23 matches in 2011 ... Utah Valley welcomes in-state rivals Brigham Young, Utah and Southern Utah to Orem during the year ... The Wolverines open the season this weekend by hosting the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational, where they will face Arizona State, North Dakota State and Wichita State.