BAKERSFIELD TO FACE TOP-SEEDED STANFORD IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
Bakersfield will travel to Palo Alto, Calif., to face top-seeded Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m. (PT) this Friday, Dec. 5.
The Roadrunners (16-14) earned the WAC’s automatic bid by winning the WAC Tournament. This is Bakersfield’s first NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level.
Stanford (29-1) earned the automatic bid out of the Pac-12 Conference and is the No. 1 overall seed. The Cardinal are led by Inky Ajanaku, who averages 3.55 kills per set on .446 hitting and 1.15 blocks per set. As a team, Stanford out-hits opponents .316 to .176 on the season.
In the other match, Michigan State (18-13) faces Loyola Marymount (23-7) at 4:30 p.m. (PT) Friday. The Spartans are on a five-match winning streak and earned an at-large bid out of the Big Ten, while the Lions earned an at-large bid out of the West Coast Conference.
The winners of the two matches will play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6.
BAKERSFIELD WINS WAC TOURNAMENT
Third-seeded Bakersfield swept No. 6 Texas-Pan American in the first round (25-8, 25-16, 25-18), beat No. 2 New Mexico State in the semifinals (21-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-20) and swept No. 5 Seattle U in the championship match (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) to claim its first-ever WAC Tournament title and earn the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It will be the Roadrunners’ first NCAA appearance in volleyball at the Division I level and their first appearance since 2006 at the Division II level.
WAC Tournament MVP Molly O’Hagan averaged a WAC-best 5.15 points, 4.20 kills on .364 hitting, 1.30 digs, 1.10 blocks and 0.30 service aces over the three matches.
All-Tournament Team
Lauren Bakker, Utah Valley
Matea Mamic, Seattle U
Luiza Martins, Bakersfield
Martina Samadan, Seattle U
Kelsee Sawyer, Bakersfield
MVP: Molly O’Hagan, Bakersfield
2014 ALL-WAC TEAMS
The 2014 WAC volleyball award winners, as selected by the league’s eight head coaches, were announced at the WAC Tournament banquet. Missouri-Kansas City junior middle hitter Emma Hagedorn was named WAC Player of the Year, while Grand Canyon’s Natalie Tardy was named WAC Freshman of the Year. UMKC head coach Christi Posey was named WAC Coach of the Year.
Six of the eight schools were represented on the teams, with UMKC leading the way with three first team honorees. Bakersfield had two players on the first team.
Hagedorn earned WAC Player of the Year honors after leading the conference in hitting percentage in WAC matches (.418). She also ranked sixth in blocks per set (1.13) and averaged 2.33 kills per set in WAC play. The junior had five or more blocks in seven WAC matches. Her .347 hitting percentage this season is the second-best in the UMKC record books, while her 113 block assists rank fourth.
Tardy earned Freshman of the Year honors after ranking second in the league in kills (3.58) and third in points (4.06) in WAC matches. She posted five double-doubles in WAC play and had 10 or more kills in 11 of 14 WAC matches.
Posey led her team to its first-ever WAC regular-season title and claimed the top seed in the WAC Tournament with a 12-2 league record. The ‘Roos also set school records for conference wins (12), overall wins (24) and winning streak (17 matches) this season.
SAWYER RECORDS 1,000TH KILL DURING WAC TOURNAMENT
Bakersfield junior Kelsee Sawyer posted her 1,000th career kill in the championship match of the WAC Tournament on Nov. 22. She now has 1,011 over three seasons. Teammate Molly O’Hagan currently sits at 985 career kills.
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.
GRAND CANYON’S PHELPS BREAKS INTO WAC TOP 10 FOR DIGS, DIGS PER SET
Grand Canyon senior libero Mackenzie Phelps etched her named into the WAC record books when she posted 312 digs in WAC matches, good for fifth all-time in the WAC record books. She also ranked eighth all-time in digs per set (5.29) in WAC matches only
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 closed out her career with 1,747 career digs. Tait is also UVU’s career record holder in service aces (192) and aces per set (0.42).
BAKERSFIELD’S MARTIN CLIMBING SEASON ASSIST LIST
Bakersfield setter Luiza Martins has 1,270 assists this season, the third-most by a CSUB setter at the Division I level. Martins has recorded double-doubles in five of the last eight matches, bringing her season total to 12.
UMKC’S MILLER SETS CAREER, SEASON DIGS RECORDS
On Oct. 30, Missouri-Kansas City junior libero Taryn Miller broke the school record for career digs and now has 1,740 in her three years. Additionally, her 663 digs this season were a new single-season record as she recorded double-digit digs in every match this season, 20 or more digs in 16 of 30 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 CLIMB 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. Samadan is second all-time with 128 on the season, while Stoll ranks third with 124 total 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 (453) on Nov. 8 and the school’s all-time leader in block assists (401) on Nov. 10. She also surpassed 1,000 career points against Bakersfield on Nov. 13 and now has 1,038 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 1,227 career points, while Sawyer has 1,106.
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 (0.80), 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 207-146 (.586) in 12 seasons at the Division I level and 345-177 (.661) 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 (.225), blocks (2.57) and digs (17.32). Meanwhile, Bakersfield is tops in assists (12.92) and kills (13.62), New Mexico State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.148) and Chicago State is tops service aces (1.42).
Individually, Bakersfield’s Danika Youngblood leads the WAC in kills (3.74) and points (4.13), while teammate Luiza Martins is tops in assists (11.44). Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the league in hitting percentage (.363), while Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait leads the conference in service aces (0.41) and teammate Lauren Bakker is tops in blocks (1.26). UMKC’s Taryn Miller leads the WAC in digs (5.48).
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).
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.