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UTAH VALLEY'S DENNISON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley sophomore middle blocker Madison Dennison has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 4-11. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Pleasant Grove, Utah, native led the Wolverines to a sweep of Seattle U in their only match last week to propel Utah Valley into sole possession of second place in the WAC standings with a 4-1 league clip. Dennison recorded 11 kills and a match-high three blocks while hitting an error-free match by going 11-for-13 offensively for a career-high .846 attack percentage, helping lead the Wolverines to a season-best .360 hitting as a team. She now leads Utah Valley and ranks fifth in the WAC in hitting (.325) and also ranks fifth in the conference in blocking (1.05).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Edithza Urias averaged 3.57 kills on .432 hitting and 1.00 digs per set as the Roadrunners went 1-1 on the week ... Elli Woinowsky of Chicago State averaged 3.00 kills and 3.67 digs ... Grand Canyon's Melody Horton averaged 3.38 kills, 2.25 digs and 0.88 blocks per set as the Antelopes went 1-1 on the week ... Sydney Crimmins of Missouri-Kansas City averaged 4.67 kills on .583 hitting, 1.67 digs and 1.33 blocks per set ... NM State's Gwen Murphy of averaged 3.88 kills on .510 hitting and 1.38 blocks per set as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week ... Bojana Mitrovic of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 5.00 kills and 3.57 digs per set over two matches.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.279), assists (12.65) and kills (14.06), while Missouri-Kansas City is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.176) and digs (17.19). Utah Valley leads the WAC in blocks (2.60), while Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.82).
Individually, UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic leads the WAC in kills (4.20) and points (4.64), while Utah Valley's Lauren Bakker is tops in blocks (1.28). Seattle U's Martina Samadan leads the league in hitting percentage (.444), while teammates Kerry Lane and Jelena Vujcin are tops in assists (10.08) and service aces (0.51), respectively. Missouri-Kansas City's Taryn Miller leads the WAC in digs (5.28).
In WAC matches only, NM State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.330) and opponent hitting percentage (.149), while CSU Bakersfield is tops in assists (13.85) and kills (14.90). Utah Valley leads the WAC in blocks (2.76), Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.74) and UMKC leads the league in digs (16.24).
Individually in WAC matches, Mitrovic leads the WAC in kills (5.00) and points (5.18), while NM State's Gwen Murphy is tops in hitting percentage (.526). CSU Bakersfield's Luiza Martins leads the league in assists (12.35), while Chicago State's Elli Woinowsky is tops in service aces (0.56). Bakker leads the WAC in blocks (1.32), while Miller is tops in digs (4.71).
SAMADAN HAS FIVE OF TOP 10 SINGLE-MATCH HITTING PERCENTAGES IN SEATTLE U HISTORY
In a four-set loss to CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 3, Seattle U senior middle blocker Martina Samadan had 14 kills on 19 attempts with one attack error for a .684 hitting percentage, the fourth-highest single-match percentage in SU history. She now owns five of the top 10 single-match hitting percentages in program history.
CSUB'S SAWYER MOVES INTO SEVENTH PLACE IN CAREER POINTS
With 25 points against Utah Valley on Oct. 1, CSU Bakersfield's Kelsee Sawyer moved into seventh place in school history in career points. She now has 1,350 points in her four years.
CSU BAKERSFIELD TIES DIVISION I RECORD FOR KILLS VS. GRAND CANYON
In a five-set win at Grand Canyon on Sept. 26, CSU Bakersfield finished with 83 kills, 109 digs, 76 assists and 211 total attempts, all WAC season highs. The Roadrunners tied the school Division I record for kills in a match, while the other three rank second in a match at the Division I level.
UMKC'S HENDIN JOINS 1,000-KILL, 1,000-DIG CLUB
On Sept. 26, Missouri-Kansas City's Jessica Hendin became just the third player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, joining Julie Mohrfeld (1,581 kills, 1,049 digs) and Angela Melka (1,037 kills, 1,239 digs). Hendin ranks tied for seventh at UMKC in kills (1,037) and ninth in digs (1,041).
NM STATE'S MURPHY HAS FOUR MATCHES WITH NO HITTING ERRORS THIS SEASON
NM State senior outside hitter Gwen Murphy had eight kills on 11 attacks with no errors for a .727 hitting percentage against UT Rio Grande Valley on Sept. 26. It was the fourth match this season in which she had no hitting errors.
Sept. 11 vs. Robert Morris - 14 kills, 15 attempts, .933 percentage
Sept. 11 vs. Brown - 10 kills, 17 attempts, .588 percentage
Sept. 18 vs. Savannah State - 8 kills, 10 attempts, .800 percentage
Sept. 26 vs. UTRGV - 8 kills, 11 attempts, .727 percentage
UMKC'S MILLER RANKS FIFTH IN WAC CAREER DIGS WITH JUST THREE SEASONS
Missouri-Kansas City senior libero Taryn Miller currently ranks fifth all-time in the WAC record books for career digs with 1,538. That total is only for the three years the Kangaroos have been in the WAC, as during Miller's freshman season UMKC competed in The Summit League. Her career total of 2,078 would put her in second place in the WAC record books.
NM STATE'S MURPHY BREAKS WAC RECORD FOR HITTING PERCENTAGE
In a sweep of Robert Morris on Sept. 11, NM State senior Gwen Murphy finished with 14 kills on 15 attempts and no errors for a WAC record .933 hitting percentage. Murphy broke the previous record of .889 set by Hawai‘i's Heather Bown against Tulsa on Nov. 5, 1999.
UTAH VALLEY'S BAKKER NOTCHES 500TH CAREER BLOCK
WAC Preseason Player of the Year Lauren Bakker of Utah Valley notched her 500th career block at Washington State on Sept. 12. Her career total of 531 would rank seventh all-time in the WAC record books, but she doesn't qualify since the Wolverines played her freshman season in the now-defunct Great West Conference.
UTRGV'S DUNHAM RANKS IN FIVE PROGRAM CAREER CATEGORIES
UT Rio Grande Valley senior Haley Durham ranks in the top five in four categories in the program career record books - blocks per set (0.82, first), block assists (250, tied for first), total blocks (307, fourth), hitting percentage (.237, fifth) and solo blocks (57, sixth).
UMKC'S CRIMMINS, MILLER CANDIDATES FOR SENIOR C.L.A.S.S. AWARD
Missouri-Kansas City's Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller are two of the 30 candidates for the Senior C.L.A.S.S. Award for volleyball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Crimmins was named first team All-WAC last year as a junior when she averaged 2.52 kills on .244 hitting, 2.90 digs and 0.83 blocks per set. She was named WAC Player of the Week on Oct. 13 and was named to the all-tournament team at the CEFCU Classic. A Preseason All-WAC selection, she serves as the WAC representative for SAAC on the NCAA committee. As a sophomore in 2013, she was named second team All-WAC. Crimmins is a two-time Academic All-WAC honoree.
Miller was named first team All-WAC and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honorable mention All-Midwest Region last year after leading the WAC with 5.48 digs per set. She was named WAC Player of the Week on Sept. 15 after being named MVP of the CEFCU Classic and was a first team Academic All-District VI pick. Miller ranked ninth in the NCAA in digs per set (5.48) and 10th in digs (663), set the school season record with 663 digs, while her 5.48 digs per set ranks third in school history. As a sophomore in 2013, she recorded 537 digs (4.88/set) en route to second team All-WAC honors. Miller is a two-time Academic All-WAC honoree.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. The winner will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.
NM STATE'S MURPHY NAMED AVCA NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State senior outside hitter Gwen Murphy was named the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I National Player of the Week for Aug. 24-30, becoming the first Aggie ever to earn the honor. In leading NM State to a 3-1 record to start the season, she averaged 3.80 kills on .478 hitting to go along with 0.60 blocks, 0.47 digs and 0.40 service aces per set. Murphy is the 14th player in WAC history and the first since the 2007 season to receive the AVCA weekly honor.
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
The WAC coaches selected Missouri-Kansas City as the team to beat in 2015. The Kangaroos received four of the first-place votes and 45 total points to earn the top spot in the poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
NM State earned two first-place votes and 40 points, followed by Seattle U with one first-place vote and 37 points. CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish fourth with 33 points and the other first-place vote, followed by Utah Valley in fifth with 28 points. Grand Canyon was sixth with 20 points, while UT Rio Grande Valley and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 13 and eight points, respectively.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Utah Valley senior middle blocker Lauren Bakker was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year for the second year in a row. UMKC, NM State and Seattle U placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with three apiece, while CSU Bakersfield and Utah Valley had two each.
Joining Bakker on the team was teammate Macky Fifita, UMKC's Sydney Crimmins, Jessica Hendin and Taryn Miller, NM State's Nathalie Castellanos, Gwen Murphy and Bradley Nash, Seattle U's Matea Mamic, Martina Samadan and Jelena Vujcin, CSU Bakersfield's Luiza Martins and Kelsee Sawyer, and Grand Canyon's Natalie Tardy.
2015 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2015 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Swinney Recreation Center in Kansas City, Mo., and will include the top six eligible teams in the regular-season standings.
Thursday, Nov. 19 (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. 20 (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. 21 (Championship)
Match 5 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 5 p.m.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Of the seven first team All-WAC players in 2014, four return for the 2015 season, led by Preseason Player of the Year Lauren Bakker of Utah Valley. Also returning from the first team are Missouri-Kansas City's Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller, and Martina Samadan of Seattle U.
Four of the seven second team honorees return, including Nathalie Castellanos and Gwen Murphy of NM State, Luiza Martins of CSU Bakersfield and Utah Valley's Macky Fifita.
All six of the All-Freshman Team honorees a year ago return - Jordan Abalos and Sasha-Lee Thomas of NM State, Sydney Haynes of CSU Bakersfield, Natalie Tardy of Grand Canyon, Jelena Vujcin of Seattle U and Madison Dennison of Utah Valley.
2015 NCAA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The 2015 NCAA Division I Championship bracket will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 29. First & Second Round competition will be held Dec. 4-6 on 16 campus sites. The winning team from each of the 16 sites will advance to the Regionals. The winning team from each of the four Regionals will advance to the championship final site.
Regionals will be held Dec. 11-12 at the following locations:
Austin, Texas - Gregory Gymnasium | Hosted by the University of Texas at Austin
Des Moines, Iowa - Wells Fargo Arena | Hosted by the University of Northern Iowa and the Des Moines Area Sports Commission
Lexington, Ky. - Memorial Coliseum | Hosted by the University of Kentucky
San Diego - Jenny Craig Pavilion | Hosted by the University of San Diego
The 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. National Semifinals will be held Dec. 17, and the National Championship will take place Dec. 19.