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This Week in WAC Volleyball - Sept. 17

This Week in WAC Volleyball - Sept. 17

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This Week in WAC Volleyball - Sept. 17
GRAND CANYON’S PHELPS EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Grand Canyon junior libero Mackenzie Phelps has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 9-15. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Phelps.

The Prescott, Ariz., native led the Antelopes to a 3-1 record and was named to the Big Green Invitational all-tournament team after averaging 6.81 digs, 0.62 assists and 0.38 service aces per set over the four matches. Set opened the week with 19 digs, three assists and three service aces in a sweep of Providence. In a heartbreaking five-set loss to Central Connecticut State later on Friday, Phelps set a Grand Canyon and WAC single-match record with 52 digs to go along with four assists. The following day, she had 15 digs in a sweep of Manhattan and followed it up with 23 digs in a five-set win over host Dartmouth. With 109 digs, Phelps moved to No. 2 on the school’s all-time digs list with 1,445.

Other nominees included: Bakersfield’s Julia Bowen was selected to the all-tournament team at the Fresno State Classic after averaging 1.33 kills on .500 hitting and 1.11 blocks per set ... Paula Sioto of Chicago State was named to the Syracuse Candlewood Suites Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 4.67 kills on .425 hitting to go along with 0.89 digs, and posting a career-high 17 kills ... Idaho’s Meredith Coba was named MVP of the Bronco Volleyball Classic after averaging 11.21 assists and 1.36 digs per set and tallying a career-high 67 assists ... Sydney Crimmins of Kansas City was named to the Kangaroo Klassic All-Tournament Team, her third all-tournament honor in as many weeks, after averaging 2.64 kills, 3.00 digs and 0.91 blocks and posting a pair of double-doubles ... New Mexico State’s Lauren Loerch was named to the all-tournament team at the NM State Tournament after averaging 3.58 kills, 2.67 digs and 0.75 blocks per set over the three matches ... Maria Kliefoth of Texas-Pan American led the Broncs to a 4-1 record on the week, earned all-tournament team honors at the Big Daddy’s Invitational and averaged 2.63 kills on .420 hitting and 0.89 blocks ... Utah Valley’s Lauren Stringham was named to the Wolverine Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 2.15 kills on .379 hitting to go along with 0.77 blocks over the three matches.

FIFTEEN WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The WAC had 15 players named to all-tournament teams last weekend. Idaho’s Meredith Coba was named MVP of the Bronco Volleyball Classic, while Katelyn Peterson and Alyssa Schultz were also named to the all-tournament team. Grand Canyon’s Kaitlynn Ausmus and Mackenzie Phelps earned all-tournament team honors at the Big Green Invitational, while Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller of Kansas City were named to the Kangaroo Klassic All-Tournament Team. Lauren Loerch and Desiree Scott were named to the all-tournament team at the NM State Tournament, while Texas-Pan American’s Anjane Janda and Maria Kliefoth earned honors at the Big Daddy’s Invitational. Brookelyn Hall and Lauren Stringham of Utah Valley were named to the Wolverine Classic All-Tournament Team, while Bakersfield’s Julia Bowen earned honors at the Fresno State Classic and Chicago State’s Paula Sioto was named to the all-tournament team at the Candlewood Suites Challenge.

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 gets you admission 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.

WAC STAT LEADERS
Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.59) and kills (14.22), while  Kansas City is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.161)  and blocks (3.20). Meanwhile, Idaho is tops in hitting percentage (.255), Texas-Pan American leads the league in and service aces (1.62), and Grand Canyon is tops in digs (16.62).

Individually, Bakersfield’s Debora Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.78) and points (4.26), while teammate Lisa Bartsch is tops in service aces (0.50). Idaho’s Alyssa Schultz is tops in hitting percentage (.409) and teammate Meredith Coba leads the league in assists (10.56). Kansas City’s Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in blocks (1.54), while Grand Canyon’s Mackenzie Phelps is tops in digs (5.72).

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.

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Roadruuners went 1-2 at the Fresno State Classic last weekend, falling to No. 20 Oregon (23-25, 22-25, 18-25) and the host Bulldogs (15-25, 18-25, 15-25), and defeating Belmont (25-20, 26-24, 25-21) ... Julia Bowen was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 1.33 kills on .500 hitting and 1.11 blocks per set ... Debora Araujo, the WAC’s active career leader in kills, surpassed the 600-kill plateau during the Fresno State Classic. She has 615 kills in 41 matches since joining the Roadrunners in the 2012 season ... As a team, Bakersfield leads the WAC in assists (13.59) and kills (14.22), ranks second in hitting percentage (.213), third in service aces (1.30) and digs (15.86), and fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.188) ... Araujo leads the WAC in kills (3.78) and points (4.26),  while Lisa Bartsch leads the league in service aces (0.50) ... The Roadrunners travel to Long Beach for the Baden Classic Friday, where it will face the host 49ers and Prairie View A&M, the play at UC Davis on Sunday.

CHICAGO STATE COUGARS (2-9, 0-0 WAC)
The Cougars fell at Western Illinois (16-25, 20-25, 19-25) last Tuesday, then went 2-1 at the Candlewood Suites Challenge, sweeping Delaware State (26-24, 25-22, 25-16) and Saint Peter’s (25-16, 25-11, 25-13) before falling to host Syracuse (15-25, 9-25, 21-25) ... The win over Delaware State snapped a 32-match losing skid ... Paula Sioto was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 4.67 kills on .425 hitting to go along with 0.89 digs ... Sioto posted a career-high 16 kills before eclipsing it in the following match with 17 against Saint Peter’s ... The Cougars recorded two sweeps in the same day after not recording once since 2007 ... The Cougars rank second in the WAC in service aces (1.33), led by Julia Menhart, who ranks second in the WAC with 0.43 aces per set ... Sioto ranks third in the WAC in points (3.79) ... The Cougars have won nine sets this season after winning 14 all of last season ... Chicago State hosts Western Illinois on Tuesday and Wright State on Wednesday.

GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (4-5, 0-0 WAC)
GCU went 3-1 at the Big Green Invitational, defeating Providence (27-25, 25-15, 25-22), Manhattan (25-21, 25-18, 25-19) and host Dartmouth (17-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-21, 15-13), and dropping a five-set heartbreaker (25-17, 25-18, 27-29, 21-25, 12-15) to Central Connecticut State ... Mackenzie Phelps set a school and WAC single-match record with 52 digs against CCSU ... Phelps and Kaitlynn Ausmus were selected to the all-tournament team. Phelps averaged 6.81 digs, 0.6 assists and 0.4 service aces, while Ausmus averaged 3.12 kills and 1.62 digs ... Ausmus (19) and Shannon Dugan (20) each had career-highs in kills vs. CCSU ... Shannon Dugan had three double-doubles on the week ... With 109 digs last week, Phelps upped her career mark to 1,445, 295 shy of the school record ... The Antelopes open their home season Wednesday against NAIA Arizona Christian. The Antelopes own a 9-0 series lead against the Firebirds ... GCU also hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday.

IDAHO VANDALS  (6-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals went 3-0 at the Bronco Volleyball Classic, defeating host Boise State (16-25, 28-26, 14-25, 25-22, 15-13), Sacramento State (25-21, 25-13, 20-25, 25-9) and North Texas (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14) to win the tournament title ... Meredith Coba earned MVP honors after averaging 11.21 assists per set to improve on her WAC-leading average ... Alyssa Schultz and Katelyn Peterson also earned all-tournament team honors ... Coba tallied a career-high 67 assists vs. North Texas, while setting the Vandal offense to a .389 hitting percentage ... Two Vandal hitters tallied career-highs in kills in that match as Jessica Hastriter had 23 and Peterson had 20 ... Debbie Buchanan got her 200th career win vs. Boise State ... Idaho’s tournament championship is its first in a non-conference tournament since 2008 ... The Vandals play in the Cougar Invitational this weekend, where they will face host Washington State and Nevada.

KANSAS CITY KANGAROOS (5-5, 0-0 WAC)
The ‘Roos went 2-1 at the Kangaroo Klassic last weekend, defeating Presbyterian (25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-16) and Eastern Illinois (25-23, 25-19, 25-16), and falling to Wake Forest (15-25, 27-25, 17-25, 11-25) ... Taryn Miller and Sydney Crimmins were named to the all-tournament team. It was the first honor this season for Miller and the third in as many weeks for Crimmins ... Crimmins recorded double-doubles against Presbyterian and Wake Forest ... The Kangaroos rank second nationally in blocks with 3.20 per set ... In addition to blocks, Kansas City leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.161), ranks second in digs (16.14) and third in assists (11.41) ... Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC and ranks 10th in the nation in blocks (1.54) ... Crimmins is second in the WAC and 44th nationally in blocks (1.30), while Melissa Hartsel is fourth (1.11) ... Miller ranks third in the league and 46th in the nation in digs (4.95) ... The ‘Roos play at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Tuesday and Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday.

NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (3-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 2-1 at the NM State Tournament last weekend, defeating Southern Utah (17-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-20) and Northern Illinois (21-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18), and falling to Arkansas-Little Rock (25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 27-29) ... Lauren Loerch and Desiree Scott were named to the all-tournament team ... Loerch averaged 3.58 kills, 2.67 digs and 0.75 blocks, while Scott averaged 2.42 kills and 0.83 blocks ... Loerch opened the tournament with a match-high 15 kills and followed that with a season-high 18 kills in the loss to UALR. She finished the tournament with her second double-double of the year as she tallied 10 kills and 13 digs vs. Northern Illinois ... As a team, the Aggies rank third in the WAC in hitting percentage (.195) and blocks (2.24), and fourth in kills (12.15) ... Loerch ranks seventh in the league in kills (2.91) and eighth points (3.47) ... The Aggies host Utah on Thursday, Hampton on Friday and South Dakota State on Saturday.

SEATTLE U REDHAWKS (2-10, 0-0 WAC)
The Redhawks fell at No. 20 Oregon (19-25, 12-25, 16-25) last Tuesday, then went 0-3 at the Long Beach State/LMU Tournament, falling to College of Charleston (14-25, 18-25, 25-16, 22-25), Loyola Marymount (15-25, 12-25, 17-25) and Long Beach State (14-25, 13-25, 13-25) ... The match against College of Charleston was the first Redhawk contest this season to go further than three sets, as Seattle U came back to win the third set and had a lead in the fourth set, but could not force the deciding fifth set against the Cougars ... Iris Ivanis notched five service aces against the Cougars, a season high for the Redhawks ... Lani Beadle collected a season-high 16 digs against the Lions ... Kerry Lane ranks sixth in the WAC in assists (7.84), while Iris Ivanis is seventh in service aces (0.32) and Allison Farley is eighth in hitting percentage (.285) ... The Redhawks play at Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, then face Washington State and Nevada in the Cougar Invitational this weekend.

TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN BRONCS (9-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncs defeated Incarnate Word (25-23, 13-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12) in their home opener last Tuesday, then went 3-1 at the Big Daddy’s Invitational last weekend, defeating  Louisiana-Monroe (25-18, 25-13, 25-16), Prairie View A&M (25-21, 25-22, 25-16) and McNeese State (24-26, 25-17, 26-24, 24-26, 15-13), and falling to Southern Miss (16-25, 14-25, 19-25) ... Maria Kliefoth Tied her career-high with 16 kills against Incarnate Word ... Kliefoth and Anjane Janda earned all-tournament team honors. Kliefoth averaged 2.43 kills and 1.00 blocks over the four matches, while Janda averaged 2.43 kills, 0.57 digs and 0.50 blocks ... The Broncs have three players in the top 10 in the WAC in service aces – Macey Singleton (0.37, fifth), Nycole Masaki (0.35, sixth) and Krysta Freitas (0.27, ninth) ... Kliefoth ranks fourth in the WAC in hitting percentage (.328), while Masaki is fourth in assists 9.08) ... The Broncs play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, then host  Huston-Tillotson on Saturday.

UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES  (2-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Wolverines went 0-3 at the Wolverine Classic last weekend, falling to Idaho State (12-25, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22, 9-15), UC Irvine (19-25, 21-25, 26-24, 15-25) and Utah (19-25, 21-25, 29-27, 15-25) ... Brookelyn Hall and Lauren Stringham were named to the all-tournament team. Hall averaged 9.38 assists, 2.15 digs and 0.77 kills, while Stringham averaged 2.15 kills on .379 hitting to go along with 0.77 blocks ... As a team, Utah Valley ranks third in the WAC in kills (12.17), and fourth in both hitting percentage (.187) and assists (11.28) ... Macky Treanor ranks second in the WAC in kills (3.69) and points (4.11), and ninth in hitting percentage (.278) ... Hall ranks third in the league in assists (9.28), while McKenna Tait is sixth in digs (3.67) ... Utah Valley plays at Weber State on Tuesday, then travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Air Force Invitational this weekend, where it will face UC Riverside, Wyoming and the host Falcons.