UMKC’S HARTSEL EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Missouri-Kansas City senior middle hitter Melissa Hartsel has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 10-16. This is her first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and second of her career.
The Concordia, Kan., native averaged WAC-bests of 2.71 blocks and a .533 hitting percentage to go along with 2.71 kills and 4.07 points per set as the Kangaroos picked up a pair of conference victories to win the WAC regular-season outright and secure the top spot in this week’s WAC Tournament. Hartsel opened the week with six kills and zero errors on 12 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage to go along with seven blocks and two digs in a sweep of Texas-Pan American. In the four-set win over New Mexico State, she posted her first career double-double with 13 kills on .556 hitting to go along with a career- and WAC season-high 12 blocks. Hartsel moved into the top spot on the UMKC single season record book with a .348 hitting percentage and also broke the school record with 130 block assists on the season.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield’s Molly O’Hagan averaged 4.43 kills, 0.71 blocks and 0.57 service aces per set as the Roadrunners went 2-0 on the week ... Shannon Dugan of Grand Canyon averaged 4.56 points, 3.75 kills, 2.00 digs and 0.88 blocks per set ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy averaged 1.57 kills on .320 hitting, 0.71 digs and 0.71 blocks per set as the Aggies went 1-1 on the week ... Matea Mamic of Seattle U averaged 3.63 kills, 1.50 digs and 0.50 blocks per set as the Redhawks went 1-1 last week ... Texas-Pan American’s Haley Durham averaged 3.67 kills, 0.67 digs and 0.33 blocks per set as the Broncs went 1-1 on the week ... McKenna Tait of Utah Valley averaged 6.50 digs and 0.80 assists per set last week.
UMKC WINS FIRST-EVER WAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
Missouri-Kansas City won its first-ever conference title and claimed the top seed in the WAC Tournament with a 12-2 record in conference play. The ‘Roos also set school records for conference wins (12), overall wins (25) and winning streak (17 matches) this season.
UTAH VALLEY’S TAIT BECOMES PROGRAM DIGS LEADER
Utah Valley senior libero McKenna Tait became the program’s all-time leader in digs on Nov. 15 at Grand Canyon, as she put up a match-high 29 digs in the sweep. She now has 1,733 career digs. Tait is also UVU’s career record holder in service aces (191), aces per set (0.42) and service attempts (1,925).
BAKERSFIELD’S MARTIN CLIMBING SEASON ASSIST LIST
Bakersfield setter Luiza Martins has 1,134 assists this season, the fourth-most by a CSUB setter at the Division I level. Martins recorded her fourth straight double-double against Utah Valley on Nov. 13, bringing her season total to 11.
UMKC’S MILLER BECOMES PROGRAM’S ALL-TIME LEADER IN DIGS
On Oct. 30, Missouri-Kansas City junior libero Taryn Miller broke the UMKC school record for career digs, passing Nicole Kerkman’s mark of 1,611. Miller now has 1,719 digs in her three-year career. Additionally, her 642 digs this season rank second on the UMKC single season list, two shy of the school record. Miller has recorded double-digit digs in every match this season, 20 or more digs in 15 of 29 matches and 30 or more digs six times.
UTAH VALLEY PICKS UP 100TH DIVISION I WIN AT PE BUILDING
With its four-set win over league-leader Missouri-Kansas City on Nov. 8, Utah Valley picked up its 100th victory as a Division I program in the PE Building. The Wolverines boast a 100-42 (.704) record at home in the Division I era.
SEATTLE U’S SAMADAN, STOLL CLIMBING SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS RECORD
Seattle U’s Martina Samadan and Stephanie Stoll became the third and fourth players in program history to record at least 100 total blocks in a single season. Stoll ranked third all-time with 113, while Samadan is fourth with 111 blocks on the year.
UVU’S BAKKER SETS THREE PROGRAM BLOCKS RECORDS
Utah Valley junior middle blocker Lauren Bakker recently broke three school career blocking records. She became the program’s all-time leader in solo blocks (52) on Nov. 6, the school’s all-time leader in total blocks (444) on Nov. 8 and the school’s all-time leader in block assists (392) on Nov. 10. She also surpassed 1,000 career points against Bakersfield on Nov. 13 and now has 1,109 career points.
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY’S MILLER NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Missouri-Kansas City’s Taryn Miller was named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District VI first team and advances to the national ballot for Academic All-America® consideration. The junior libero was named WAC player of the Week on Sept. 15 after garnering MVP honors at the CEFCU Classic. Academically, Miller holds a 4.0 grade-point average as a business administration major. A two-time Academic All-Conference selection, she serves as the squad’s representative to SAAC.
BAKERSFIELD’S SAWYER, O’HAGAN BOTH SURPASS 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Bakersfield junior outside hitter Kelsee Sawyer surpassed 1,000 career points on Oct. 18 at Utah Valley. Her teammate senior middle blocker Molly O’Hagan reached the 1,000-point plateau against Chicago State on Oct. 2. O’Hagan now has 1,138 career points, while Sawyer has 1,035.
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 (218) and total blocks (255), and ninth in blocks per set (0.66). Durham is first in blocks per set (0.81), and seventh in both block assists (201) and total blocks (249).
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 207-145 (.588) in 12 seasons at the Division I level and 345-176 (.662) overall in his career in 16 years at Utah Valley.
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.
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. With six wins this season, the Cougars tripled their win total from 2013.
WAC STAT LEADERS
As a team, Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.228), kills (13.47) and digs (17.52). Meanwhile, New Mexico State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.148), Bakersfield is tops in assists (12.69), Seattle U leads the league in blocks (2.62) and Chicago State is tops service aces (1.42).
Individually, Bakersfield’s Danika Youngblood leads the WAC in kills (3.73) and points (4.11), while teammate Luiza Martins is tops in assists (11.23). Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the league in hitting percentage (.356), while Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait leads the conference in service aces (0.42). Missouri-Kansas City’s Melissa Hartsel leads the WAC in and blocks (1.24), while teammate Taryn Miller is tops in digs (5.53).
In WAC matches only, Bakersfield led the WAC in assists (13.00) and kills (13.68), while Missouri-Kansas City was tops in opponent hitting percentage (.141) and digs (16.80). Utah Valley led the WAC in hitting percentage (.254), Seattle U was tops in blocks (2.75) and Grand Canyon led the league in service aces (1.51).
Individually in conference matches only, Youngblood led the WAC in kills (4.08) and points (4.50), while Missouri-Kansas City’s Emma Hagedorn led the league in hitting percentage (.418). Martins was tops in assists (11.36), while Grand Canyon’s Hannah Hankins led the conference in service aces (0.48). Seattle U’s Hartsel was tops in blocks (1.45), while Mackenzie Phelps of Grand Canyon led the league in digs (5.29).
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. All five matches will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network.
WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 20 (First Round)
Match 1 - No. 6 Texas-Pan American at No. 3 Bakersfield, 5 p.m.
Match 2 - No. 5 Seattle U vs. No. 4 Utah Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 21 (Semifinals)
Match 3 - Winner Match 1 vs. No. 2 New Mexico State, 5 p.m.
Match 4 - Winner Match 2 vs. No. 1 Missouri-Kansas City, 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.
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.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Of the seven first team All-WAC players in 2013, three return for the 2014 season, led by Preseason Player of the Year Lauren Bakker of Utah Valley. Also returning from the first team are Gwen Murphy of New Mexico State and McKenna Tait of Utah Valley.
Five of the seven second team honorees return, including Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller of UMKC, Iris Ivanis and Martina Samadan of Seattle U, and Bakersfield’s Molly O’Hagan.
Of the six All-Freshman Team honorees a year ago, five return – Ivanis and Kerry Lane of Seattle U, Kaylyn Brandt of UMKC, Alisha Watson of UTPA and Nakisha Willden of Utah Valley.