United Athletic Conference

UMKC’S CRIMMINS EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Missouri-Kansas City U junior rightside hitter Sydney Crimmins has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 6-12. This is her first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the second of her career.

The Clay Center, Kan., native averaged 3.75 kills on .338 hitting, 2.12 digs, 0.75 blocks and 0.50 assists per set as the Kangaroos went 2-0 last week to extend their win streak to a school-record 11 matches. Crimmins opened the week with a season-high-tying 17 kills on 40 attempts with just one error for a .400 hitting percentage, her second highest of the season, to go along with seven digs and three blocks in a four-set win over Utah Valley. She followed it up with 13 kills, 10 digs and four assists in a four-set win over Seattle U on Saturday. It was her eighth double-double of the season. Crimmins now ranks fourth in the WAC in conference matches in points (3.85) and fifth in kills (3.22).

Other nominees included: Luiza Martins of Bakersfield finished with 41 assists, eight digs and two kills in a sweep of Grand Canyon ... Chicago State’s Elli Woinowsky averaged 4.71 kills and 5.14 points per set in a pair of losses last week ... Mackenzie Phelps of Grand Canyon posted 26 digs in a three-set loss to Bakersfield ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy averaged 3.33 kills on .571 hitting to go along with 0.67 digs per set as the Aggies went 1-0 on the week ... Iris Ivanis of Seattle U averaged 3.75 kills, 2.25 digs and 1.12 blocks per set as the Redhawks went 1-1 on the week ... Texas-Pan American’s Haley Durham averaged 3.50 kills on .486 hitting and 0.83 blocks per set as the Broncs went 1-1 last week ... Lauren Bakker of Utah Valley averaged 4.14 kills on .532 hitting and 0.62 digs per set as the Wolverines went 1-1 on the week.

MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY SETS SEVERAL PROGRAM RECORDS
Missouri-Kansas City, which is undefeated in WAC play, has the best overall (15-3) and WAC (4-0) records in the conference. The 15-3 mark is the best start in school history, while the 4-0 WAC start is the best conference start in school history. The 15 wins are tied for the fourth-most in school history and already match last season’s total with a minimum of 11 matches remaining this season. The Kangaroos are also on an 11-match winning streak, the longest win streak in school history.

WAC STAT LEADERS
As a team, Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.215), assists (12.80), kills (13.73) and digs (18.30). Meanwhile, New Mexico State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.145), Seattle U is tops in blocks (2.67), while Chicago State leads the league in service aces (1.67).

Individually, Bakersfield’s Danika Youngblood leads the WAC in kills (3.59) and points (3.97), while teammate Luiza Martins is tops in assists (11.10). Utah Valley’s Lauren Bakker leads the league in hitting percentage (.361), while teammate McKenna Tait leads the conference in service aces (0.51). Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the WAC in blocks (1.31), while Missouri-Kansas City’s Taryn Miller is tops in digs (5.81).

In WAC matches only, Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in assists (13.59), kills (14.47) and digs (18.53). Meanwhile, Seattle U is tops in blocks (3.15) and service aces (1.80). Utah Valley leads the league in hitting percentage (.255) and New Mexico State is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.148).

Individually in conference matches only, Youngblood leads the WAC in kills (4.21) and points (4.71), while Missouri-Kansas City’s Emma Hagedorn leads the league in hitting percentage (.444). Seattle U’s Stephanie Stoll and Samadan are tied for the top spot in blocks (1.45), while Mackenzie Phelps of Grand Canyon leads the league in digs (5.46). Martins is tops in assists (11.16), while Texas-Pan American’s Alisha Watson leads the conference in service aces (0.67).

UVU’S ATOA PICKS UP 200TH DIVISION I VICTORY
Utah Valley head coach Sam Atoa recorded his 200th Division I victory on Oct. 4 in a win over Texas-Pan American. Atoa is now 201-139 (.591) in 12 seasons at the Division I level and 339-170 (.666) overall in his career in 16 years at Utah Valley.

BAKERSFIELD’S O’HAGAN REGISTERS 1,000TH CAREER POINT
Bakersfield senior middle blocker Molly O’Hagan reached the 1,000-point plateau on her career when she tallied 15 points against Chicago State on Oct. 2. She now has 1,028 points and 825 kills on her career.

SAMADAN POSTS SEATTLE U’S FIFTH-BEST HITTING PERCENTAGE
In a five-set win over Montana on Sept. 18, junior middle blocker Martina Samadan hit .645 in the match. It was the fifth-highest individual single-match hitting percentage in program history.

KLIEFOTH, DURHAM AMONG UTPA’S ALL-TIME BEST BLOCKERS
Texas-Pan American senior Maria Kliefoth and junior Haley Durham are among the best blockers in program history. Kliefoth ranks sixth in both block assists (197) and total blocks (232), and ninth in blocks per set (0.65). Durham is first in blocks per set (0.83), and seventh in both block assists (183) and total blocks (225).

CHICAGO STATE SNAPS 64-MATCH HOME LOSING SKID
When it defeated IU Northwest on Sept. 12, Chicago State snapped a 64-match home losing skid that dated back to Oct. 13, 2007, when it defeated Air Force in five sets. The Cougars have already tripled their win total from the 2013 season.

NEW MEXICO STATE FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
The WAC coaches selected New Mexico State as the team to beat in 2014. The Aggies received six first-place votes, while Seattle U received the other two. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

The Aggies earned 48 total points, followed by Seattle U with 43. Utah Valley was picked to finish third with 35 points, followed by Missouri-Kansas City in fourth with 27 points, just ahead of Bakersfield in fifth with 26 and Grand Canyon in sixth with 22 points. Texas-Pan American and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 16 and seven points, respectively.

PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Utah Valley junior middle blocker Lauren Bakker, who last year ranked second in the league in blocks per set (1.31) and ninth in hitting percentage (.272), was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

New Mexico State and Utah Valley placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with three apiece, while Seattle U, UMKC and Grand Canyon had two each. Joining Bakker on the preseason team are teammates Kalani Norris and McKenna Tait, New Mexico State’s Taylor Livoti, Gwen Murphy and Bradley Nash, Seattle U’s Iris Ivanis and Martina Samadan, UMKC’s Sydney Crimmins and Emma Hagedorn, Grand Canyon’s Shannon Dugan and Mackenzie Phelps, Bakersfield’s Molly O’Hagan, and Haley Durham of UTPA.

2014 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2014 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held Nov. 20-22 at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif., and will include the top six eligible teams in the regular-season standings.

WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 20 (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.

Friday, Nov. 21 (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.

Saturday, Nov. 22 (Championship)
Match 5 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 5 p.m.

WAC TOURNAMENT TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets for the 2014 WAC Volleyball Tournament, which will be held Nov. 20-22 at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif., are on sale now. All-session tickets, which are general admission seating and include admission to all five matches, are $25. Tickets can be purchased  through both the Bakersfield website (gorunners.com) and the Vallitix website (vallitix.com).

Single-session tickets, which allow access to one day’s worth of matches, will be available for purchase on Monday, Nov. 17.