BAKERSFIELD’S O’HAGAN EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Bakersfield junior opposite hitter Molly O’Hagan has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 2-8. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for O’Hagan.
The Tonganoxie, Kan., native averaged 3.75 kills on .505 hitting while adding 1.19 blocks per set over four matches as the Roadrunners went 3-1 last week. She opened the week with 15 kills and two blocks in a narrow 3-2 loss at Radford. Over the weekend, O’Hagan was named MVP of the James Madison Classic after leading Bakersfield to the tournament title with wins over Presbyterian, Wyoming and the host Dukes. She averaged 4.09 kills on .586 hitting, 1.55 blocks and 0.45 digs per set over the three matches. In a sweep of Presbyterian, O’Hagan finished with 11 kills on .667 hitting. In the win over JMU, she was just shy of a double-double, finishing with a career-high 19 kills on .643 hitting and nine blocks, setting the program record for best hitting percentage in a four-set match. O’Hagan closed out the tournament with 15 kills on .481 hitting and seven blocks in a four-set win over Wyoming.
Other nominees included: Paula Sioto of Chicago State was named to the all-tournament team at the UIC Invitational after averaging 3.36 kills, 1.14 digs and 0.79 blocks over three matches ... Grand Canyon’s Kaitlyn Ausmus earned all-tournament honors at the Wolf Pack Invitational after averaging 3.07 kills and 1.14 digs as the Antelopes picked up their first win at the Division I level ... Jessica Hastriter of Idaho was named to the all-tournament team at the NAU Fiesta Classic after averaging 3.64 kills on .329 hitting to go along with 0.45 blocks per set ... Kansas City’s Sydney Crimmins was named to the all-tournament team at the Maryland Invitational and averaged 1.94 kills, 2.76 digs and 1.71 blocks on the week ... Lauren Loerch of New Mexico State earned all-tournament team honors at the Wahine Classic after averaging 2.30 kills, 1.10 digs and 0.40 service aces per set ... Seattle U’s Allison Farley averaged 1.93 kills on .350 hitting and 0.71 blocks over five matches last week and was named to the all-tournament team at the Gonzaga Invitational ... Maria Kliefoth of Texas-Pan American averaged 2.38 kills on .321 hitting and 0.88 blocks over five matches last week and was named to the Sugar Bear Classic all-tournament team ... Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait averaged 3.36 digs, 1.00 assists and 0.29 service aces over four matches last week and was named to the all-tournament team at the Arizona Desert Classic.
FIFTEEN WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The WAC had 15 of its players named to all-tournament teams last weekend. Bakersfield’s Molly O’Hagan was named MVP of the JMU Classic and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Mariah Alvidrez and Fernanda Gonçalves. Kaitlynn Ausmus and Mackenzie Phelps of Grand Canyon were named to the Wolf Pack Invitational all-tournament team, while Kansas City’s Sydney Crimmins and Emma Hagedorn both earned Maryland Invitational all-tournament team accolades. Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley also had two players earn honors, as Maria Kliefoth and Haley Durham were named to the Sugar Bear Classic all-tournament team, while Katie Fritzler and McKenna Tait earned honors at the Arizona Desert Classic. Paula Sioto of Chicago State was named to the UIC Invitational all-tournament squad, while Jessica Hastriter of Idaho earned All-NAU Fiesta Bowl Tournament honors. New Mexico State’s Lauren Loerch was named to the all-tournament team at the Wahine Classic, while Allison Farley of Seattle U was named to the all-tournament team at the Gonzaga Invitational.
WAC STAT LEADERS
Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.96), kills (14.71) and digs (16.75). Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.230), while Texas-Pan American leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.164) and service aces (1.72). Meanwhile, Kansas City leads the WAC in blocks (3.38).
Individually, Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the WAC in kills (4.17) and points (5.04), while Bakersfield’s Molly O’Hagan is tops in hitting percentage (.417) and teammate Mariah Alvidrez leads the league in digs (5.32). Meredith Coba of Idaho leads the league in assists (10.22), while Aleisha Coates of New Mexico State is tops in service aces (0.48). Kansas City’s Sydney Crimmins and Emma Hagedorn are tied for the lead in blocks (1.46).
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (5-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Roadruuners fell in five sets (25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 11-15 at Radford on Wednesday, before winning the JMU Classic last weekend after defeating Presbyterian (25-18, 25-16, 25-20), host James Madison (24-26, 25-20, 25-14, 25-18) and Wyoming (25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16) ... It was the first time the Roadrunners went undefeated in a tournament on the road since 2005 ... Molly O’Hagan was named tournament MVP after averaging 4.09 kills on .586 hitting and 1.55 blocks over the three matches ... Mariah Alvidrez and Fernanda Gonçalves were also named to the all-tournament team ... O’Hagan set the program record for hitting percentage in a four-set match with a .643 clip vs. JMU, when she posted a career-high 19 kills and tied her career high with nine blocks ... Bakersfield’s 5-2 record is its best start at the Division I level ... The Roadrunners travel to the Fresno State Classic this weekend, where they will face No. 20 Oregon, the host Bulldogs and Belmont.
CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (0-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Cougars fell to Indiana State (21-25, 12-25, 29-31) last Tuesday in their home opener, then dropped all three matches at the UIC Invitational last weekend, falling to Denver (10-25, 8-25, 21-25), host UIC (14-25, 23-25, 25-13, 16-25) and Marshall (14-25, 18-25, 26-24, 9-25) ... Paula Sioto was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 3.36 kills, 1.14 digs and 0.79 blocks over three matches ... Rachel Levitt had 12 kills against UIC, her most since recording 13 vs. NJIT on Nov. 17, 2011 ... Mackenzie Lotter had a career-high 41 assists against UIC ... Valeria Desiderio has three double-doubles on the season ... Julia Menhart has recorded two or more aces in three of the Cougars’ seven matches this year ... The Cougars have used the same seven starters for every match this year ... Chicago State plays at Western Illinois on Tuesday, then travels to Syracuse for the Candlewood Suites Challenge, where it will face Delaware State, Saint Peter’s and the host Orange.
GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (1-4, 0-0 WAC)
GCU went 1-2 at the Wolf Pack Invitational last weekend, falling to Illinois State (12-25, 16-25, 25-17, 25-16, 12-15) and UC Davis (22-25, 23-25, 25-14, 19-25) before picking up its first-ever win at the Division I level in five sets over Weber State (17-25, 29-27, 25-20, 18-25, 15-9) ... Kaitlynn Ausmus and Mackenzie Phelps were both named to the all-tournament team ... Ausmus had a career-high 18 kills vs. UC Davis and posted a double-double of 13 kills and 12 digs against Illinois State ... Phelps averaged 4.50 digs per set and totaled 63 digs over the three matches, including 25 vs. Weber State ... Megan Davis had two double-doubles – 13 kills and 13 digs against Illinois State and 11 kills and 14 digs against UC Davis ... Shannon Dugan had a career-high 17 kills vs. Weber State ... The Antelopes travel to Hanover, N.H., this weekend for the Big Green Invitational, where they will face Providence, Central Connecticut State, Manhattan and host Dartmouth.
IDAHO VANDALS (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals went 0-3 at the Northern Arizona Fiesta Classic last weekend, falling to Cal State Northridge (25-18, 23-25, 16-25, 25-22, 8-15), the host Lumberjacks (18-25, 25-27, 23-25) and San Diego State (23-25, 20-25, 25-27) ... Jessica Hastriter was named to the all-tournament team after hitting a career-high .474 with 10 kills against San Diego State and posting a career-high 17 kills against Northridge ... Of the nine sets Idaho lost last weekend, five came by just two points ... The Vandals fall to 0-2 in five-set matches this season with their 3-2 loss to Northridge ... Debbie Buchanan is still in pursuit of her 200th win, sitting at 199-192 on her career ... Setter Meredith Coba leads the WAC with 10.22 assists per set, while Alyssa Schultz ranks second in hitting percentage (.407) and third in blocks per set (1.44) ... The Vandals travel to Boise, Idaho, this weekend for the Bronco Volleyball Classic, where they will face host Boise State, Sacramento State and North Texas.
KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
The ‘Roos fell in four sets (17-25, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25) to Kansas last Tuesday in their home opener, then went 2-1 at the Maryland Invitational last weekend, dropping their opening match to the host Terrapins (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 13-25, 6-15) before defeating Penn (22-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19) and LIU Brooklyn (25-22, 27-25, 18-25, 25-21) ... Sydney Crimmins and Emma Hagedorn were named to the all-tournament team ... Crimmins averaged 2.00 kills, 2.15 digs and 1.54 blocks, while Hagedorn averaged 1.85 kills and 1.62 blocks over the three matches ... It was the second-straight all-tournament honor for Crimmins, who set new career highs with nine total bocks against Kansas and Penn, five solo blocks against LIU Brooklyn and 19 digs against Kansas ... Hagedorn tied the school record with 14 blocks against Penn ... The ‘Roos took their first set from Kansas since 2008 and just the seventh ever ... The ‘Roos host the Kangaroo Klassic this weekend, where they will face Presbyterian, Eastern Illinois and Wake Forest.
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (1-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 0-3 at the Wahine Volleyball Classic last weekend, falling to No. 9 Hawai’i (17-25, 23-25, 15-25), No. 10 UCLA (15-25, 22-25, 12-25) and Santa Clara (22-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-27) ... Lauren Loerch earned all-tournament team honors after averaging 2.30 kills, 1.10 digs and 0.40 service aces per set ... Against Santa Clara, Taylor Livoti tallied her second double-double of the year with 14 assists and 10 digs ... The Aggies have now lost five straight matches. The last NM State had this long of a losing streak was from Sept. 11-18, 2010, when is lost six in a row ... As a team, the Aggies rank third in the WAC in hitting percentage (.188) and blocks (2.38) ... Aleisha Coates leads the conference in service aces per set (0.48), while Desiree Scott ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.333) and eighth in blocks (1.05) ... The Aggies host the New Mexico State Tournament this weekend, where they will face Southern Utah, Arkansas-Little Rock and Northern Illinois.
SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (2-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Redhawks dropped their home opener to Eastern Washington (18-25, 22-25, 21-25) last Monday, fell in straight sets (14-25, 10-25, 15-25) at No. 5 Washington last Tuesday, then went 0-3 at the Gonzaga Invitational, falling to Arizona State (13-25, 26-28, 15-25), the host Zags (15-25, 22-25, 17-25) and UNLV (21-25, 22-25, 20-25) ... Allison Farley posted a career-high .600 hitting percentage against fifth-ranked Washington ... Farley was named to the all-tournament team ... As a team, Seattle U ranks fourth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.185) and service aces (1.25), and fifth in both assists (10.71) and kills (11.38) ... Martina Samadan leads the WAC in points (5.04) and kills (4.17) and ranks fourth in service aces (0.42) per set ... Farley moved into seventh all-time at Seattle U in total blocks (235) ... The Redhawks play at No. 20 Oregon on Tuesday, then travel to the Long Beach State/LMU Tournament, where they will face College of Charleston, Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (5-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncs defeated Lamar in five sets (25-23, 19-25, 27-25, 16-25, 15-13) last Monday, then went 3-1 at the Sugar Bear Classic last weekend, where they beat Jackson State (25-16, 25-17, 25-21), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (25-22, 25-16, 25-20) and Louisiana-Monroe (25-22, 25-20, 25-17), before falling to host Central Arkansas (16-25, 18-25, 21-25) ... Against Lamar, Diara Reynolds posted a team-high 14 kills, including the match-winner ... Maria Kliefoth and Haley Durham were named to the all-tournament team ... Kliefoth averaged 3.00 kills on .403 hitting to go along with 1.00 blocks, while Durham averaged 2.75 kills and 1.00 blocks per set over the four matches ... UTPA leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.164) and service aces (1.72) ... The Broncs host Incarnate Word on Tuesday, then travel to Lake Charles, La., for the Big Daddy’s Invitational this weekend, where they will face Louisiana-Monroe, Prairie View A&M, McNeese State and Southern Miss.
UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (2-5, 0-0 WAC)
The Wolverines fell to No. 25 Brigham Young (26-24, 22-25, 8-25, 11-25) last Tuesday, then went 1-2 at the Arizona Desert Classic last weekend, defeating Eastern Kentucky (25-21, 28-26, 21-25, 33-31), but falling to Butler (11-25, 22-25, 16-25) and the host Wildcats (17-25, 22-25, 15-25) ... Katie Fritzler and McKenna Tait were both named to the all-tournament team ... Fritzler averaged 1.00 kills, 0.70 blocks and 0.40 digs per set, while Tait averaged 3.20 digs, 1.20 assists and 0.40 service aces over the three matches ... Macky Treanor ranks third in the WAC in kills per set (3.83) and eighth in hitting percentage (.284) ... Tait ranks fourth in the league in digs per set (3.70), while Brookelyn Hall is fourth in assists (3.22) and tied for eighth in service aces (0.30) ... As a team, the Wolverines rank third in the conference in assists (11.43) and kills (12.35), and fourth in blocks (2.15) ... Utah Valley hosts the Wolverine Classic this weekend, where it will face Idaho State, UC Irvine and Utah.