BAKERSFIELD’S YOUNGBLOOD EARNS WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Bakersfield senior outside hitter Danika Youngblood has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 15-21. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Salt Lake City, Utah, native averaged 5.50 points, 5.36 kills on .347 hitting, 2.73 digs and 0.36 assists over three matches last week, earning a spot on the Bakersfield Classic All-Tournament Team. Youngblood, who posted double-doubles in all three matches, opened the week with 19 kills and 10 digs in a four-set loss to Long Beach State. The following day, she posted a career-high 22 kills on .349 hitting to go along with 10 digs against Oregon State. Youngblood closed out the weekend with 18 kills on .368 hitting to go along with 10 digs and a service ace in a sweep of Fresno State. She entered the week averaging 3.06 points, 2.68 kills on .110 hitting and 2.74 digs per set.
Other nominees included: Chelsea Sheldon-Medina of Chicago State averaged 1.89 kills and 0.74 blocks per set and was named to the all-tournament team at the Chicago State Tournament ... Grand Canyon’s Megan Byrnes was named to the all-tournament team at the Chicago State Tournament and averaged 2.53 kills on .371 hitting, 0.94 blocks and 3.06 points per set over five matches last week ... Emma Hagedorn of Missouri-Kansas City was named to the all-tournament team at the FGCU Classic and averaged 2.38 kills on .330 hitting, 1.06 blocks and 0.62 digs as the Kangaroos went 4-0 on the week ... New Mexico State’s Gwen Murphy was named MVP of the Holly Young Invitational after averaging 3.11 points, 2.33 kills, 2.44 digs, 0.78 blocks and 0.33 service aces per set as the Aggies went 3-0 and won the tournament title ... Martina Samadan of Seattle U averaged 4.36 points, 3.73 kills on .554 hitting, 0.64 blocks and 0.55 digs per set over three matches last week ... Texas-Pan American’s Haley Durham averaged 3.25 points, 2.50 kills and 1.30 blocks per set last week ... Lauren Bakker of Utah Valley earned all-tournament team honors at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational after averaging 2.69 kills, 0.92 blocks and 0.62 digs per set over the three matches.
ELEVEN WAC PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS LAST WEEKEND
The WAC had 11 of its players named to all-tournament teams in the fourth weekend of play. New Mexico State led the way with three players earning honors, as Gwen Murphy was named MVP and Sasha-Lee Thomas and Hannah Walker were named to the all-tournament team at the Holly Young Invitational. Missouri-Kansas City’s Skyler Muff was named MVP and teammate Emma Hagedorn was also named to the all-tournament team at the FGCU Classic, while Grand Canyon’s Megan Byrnes and Shannon Dugan joined Chicago State’s Chelsea Sheldon-Medina on the all-tournament team at the Chicago State Tournament. Utah Valley’s Lauren Bakker and Madison Wolford earned all-tournament honors at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Invitational, while Danika Youngblood of Bakersfield was named to the all-tournament team at the Roadrunner Classic.
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY OFF TO BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Missouri-Kansas City currently sits in a tie with Grand Canyon atop the WAC standings with an 11-3 record, the best start in school history. The Kangaroos are also on a seven-match winning streak, the second-longest streak in school history, trailing the nine straight won by the 1992 team.
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.
UTPA’S KLIEFOTH, DURHAM AMONG PROGRAM’S 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 (193) and total blocks (227), and ninth in blocks per set (0.67). Durham is first in blocks per set (0.81), and seventh in both block assists (166) and total blocks (203).
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. Fifteen matches into the season, the Cougars have already tripled their win total from the 2013 season.
WAC STAT LEADERS
As a team, Missouri-Kansas City leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.208), assists (12.56), kills (13.51) and digs (18.23). Meanwhile, New Mexico State is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.144) and blocks (2.86), while Chicago State leads the league in service aces (1.74).
Individually, Grand Canyon’s Shannon Dugan leads the WAC in kills (3.72) and points (4.02), while Seattle U’s Martina Samadan leads the league in hitting percentage (.348) and blocks (1.23). Bakersfield’s Luiza Martins is tops in assists (11.08), while Utah Valley’s McKenna Tait leads the conference in service aces (0.55) and Missouri-Kansas City’s Taryn Miller is tops in digs (5.98).
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.