GCU’S TARDY EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Grand Canyon freshman outside hitter Natalie Tardy has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 25-31. This is the first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor for Tardy.
The Phoenix, Ariz. native tallied 42 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and five service aces over three matches en route to earning MVP honors at the Texas Southern Invitational last week. Tardy posted WAC-bests of 4.67 kills per set and 5.61 points per set in her first weekend of collegiate volleyball. In her first collegiate match against Prairie View A&M, she fell just shy of a double-double, finishing with 16 kills on .314 hitting to go along with nine digs and two service aces. Tardy followed it up with a career-high 17 kills against host Texas Southern, adding three blocks. She wrapped up the 3-0 weekend with nine kills, three aces and three digs against New Orleans.
Other nominees included: Bakersfield’s Molly O’Hagan led the Roadrunners to a 2-1 record at the Sam Houston State Invitational and was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 3.33 kills on .439 hitting to go along with 1.11 blocks and 0.89 digs per set over three matches ... Jessica Hendin of Missouri-Kansas City was named to the Omaha Classic All-Tournament Team after posting a double-double, including a career-high 26 digs, and averaging 2.46 kills, 3.85 digs, 0.62 assists and 0.31 service aces over three matches ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy was selected to the all-tournament team at the Utah Classic after averaging 2.40 kills, 1.20 blocks, 0.50 digs and 0.30 service aces per set in three tournament matches ... Matea Mamic of Seattle U earned a spot on the all-tournament team at the Lobo Classic after averaging 4.50 points, 3.67 kills and 0.56 service aces over three matches ... Texas-Pan American’s Haley Durham earned all-tournament honors at the Sam Houston Invitational after averaging 2.08 kills and 1.33 blocks per set ... McKenna Tait of Utah Valley earned all-tournament team honors at the Kansas Invitational after averaging 4.50 digs, 0.50 assists and 0.30 service aces per set.
TWELVE WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN OPENING WEEKEND
The WAC had 12 of its players named to all-tournament teams in the opening weekend of play, headlined by Grand Canyon’s Natalie Tardy and Mackenzie Phelps, who were named MVP and Top Libero, respectively, at the Texas Southern Invitational. Mariah Alvidrez, Luiza Martins and Molly O’Hagan of Bakersfield were all named to the all-tournament team at the Sam Houston Invitational, as was Haley Durham of Texas-Pan American. Missouri-Kansas City had two players earn honors, as Emma Hagedorn and Jessica Hendin were named to the Omaha Classic all-tournament team. Amber Graham of Chicago State earned all-tournament team honors at the Indiana State Tournament, while New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy was named to the Utah Classic all-tournament team. Rounding out the group are Matea Mamic, who was named to the all-tournament team at the Lobo Classic and McKenna Tait of Utah Valley, who earned all-tournament honors at the Kansas Invitational.
WAC STAT LEADERS
After the first weekend of play, Grand Canyon leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.234), opponent hitting percentage (.104) and service aces (2.22). Bakersfield is tops in the WAC in assists (13.89), kills (14.78) and digs (19.11). Meanwhile, New Mexico State leads the league in blocks (2.70).
Individually, Grand Canyon’s Natalie Tardy leads the WAC in kills (4.67) and points (5.61), while teammate Hannah Hankins is tops in hitting percentage (.444). Luiza Martins of Bakersfield leads the league in assists (12.44), while teammates Eryn Riley and Mariah Alvidrez are tops in service aces (0.67) and digs (6.0), respectively. Texas-Pan American’s Haley Durham leads the WAC in blocks (1.33).