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NM STATE'S MURPHY NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State senior outside hitter Gwen Murphy has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 7-13. This is her second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and her career.
The Elfrida, Ariz. native led the Aggies to a 3-1 record at the Borderland Invitational last weekend, with the only loss coming at the hands of Oklahoma in a thrilling five-set match. Murphy, who had the match high in kills in all four matches, averaged 3.69 kills on .505 hitting and 0.75 blocks per set en route to all-tournament team honors. She opened the week with 15 kills and two blocks in the five-set loss to the Sooners. In a sweep of Robert Morris on Friday, Murphy finished with 14 kills on 15 attempts and no errors for a WAC single-match record .933 hitting percentage, breaking the previous record of .889 set in 1999. Later in the day, she posted 10 kills on .588 hitting to go along with three blocks and two digs. On the day, she had 24 kills on 32 attempts with no errors for a .750 hitting percentage. Murphy closed out the week with a career-high 20 kills and four blocks in a five-set win over Denver.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Kelsee Sawyer averaged 3.83 kills and 0.92 digs and was named to the all-tournament team at the Bluejay Invitational ... Elli Woinowsky of Chicago State averaged 3.20 kills and 2.30 digs and earned all-tournament team honors at the Bash at the Boro Invitational ... Grand Canyon's Natalie Tardy averaged 4.09 kills and 2.18 digs per set and led the Lopes to their first two wins of the season ... Jessica Hendin of Missouri-Kansas City was named MVP of the Kangaroo Klassic after averaging 4.45 kills, 2.73 digs and 1.00 blocks per set over three matches ... Seattle U's Martina Samadan averaged 3.50 kills on .529 hitting, 1.50 blocks and 1.00 digs per set over two matches ... Bojana Mitrovic of UT Rio Grande Valley earned all-tournament honors at the Islanders Classic after averaging 3.78 kills and 2.33 digs per set ... Utah Valley's Lauren Bakker earned all-tournament team honors at the Cougar Challenge after averaging 3.10 kills on .519 hitting and 1.40 blocks per set.
WAC HAS 11 PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN THIRD WEEK
The WAC had 11 of its players named to all-tournament teams in the third week of the 2015 season, headlined by Missouri-Kansas City's Jessica Hendin, who was named MVP of the Kangaroo Klassic. Teammates Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller joined Hendin on the all-tournament team. CSU Bakersfield's Kelsee Sawyer was named to the all-tournament team at the Bluejay Invitational, while Elli Woinowsky of Chicago State earned all-tournament honors at the Bash at the Boro Invitational. NM State's Gwen Murphy and Bradley Nash earned all-tournament honors at the Borderland Invitational, while UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic and Alisha Watson were named to the all-tournament team at the Islanders Classic. Utah Valley's Lauren Bakker and Sierra Starley were named to the Cougar Challenge All-Tournament Team.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.267), assists (12.32) and kills (13.75), while Seattle U is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.155), blocks (2.83) and service aces (1.83). Meanwhile, Missouri-Kansas City leads the league in digs (17.87).
Individually, UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic leads the WAC in kills (3.74) and points (4.31), while teammate Alisha Watson is tops in service aces (0.50). Seattle U's Martina Samadan leads the league in hitting percentage (.439), while teammate Kerry Lane is tops in assists (9.72). Utah Valley's Lauren Bakker leads the WAC in blocks (1.38), while Missouri-Kansas City's Taryn Miller is tops in digs (5.45).
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 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 500 would rank eighth 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.
UMKC'S HENDIN CLOSING IN ON 1,000 KILLS, 1,000 DIGS
Missouri-Kansas City senior Jessica Hendin currently has 976 digs, good for ninth place all-time in the UMKC record books, and 947 kills. If she adds 24 digs and 53 kills, Hendin will become just the third Kangaroo ever to join the 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club, joining Julie Mohrfeld (1,581 kills, 1,049 digs) and Angela Melka (1,037 kills, 1,239 digs).
UTRGV'S DUNHAM RANKS IN FOUR 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), blocks assists (226, fourth), total blocks (278, fifth) and hitting percentage (.231, fifth).
SEATTLE U STARTS ALL INTERNATIONAL LINEUP
In three matches this season, Seattle U has started an all-international lineup (not including the libero). The lineup includes Croatians Martina Samadan, Iris Ivanis and Matea Mamic, Serbians Maja Stojanovic and Jelena Vujcin, Mila Duarte of Peru and Shae Harris of Canada. The Redhawks are believed to be the only team in Division I to do so.
NM STATE RANKED IN RICH KERN TOP 30 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2008
NM State was ranked No. 30 in the Sept. 7 RichKern.com national poll. It was the first time since Dec. 22, 2008, when the Aggies were No. 22, that NM State had been in the poll (excluding preseason polls).
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. During the four matches, Murphy posted a career-high 16 kills twice, including in a five-set loss to No. 16 Arizona State, and had a career-high three service aces against Northeastern. She also hit a blazing .722 in a sweep of Montana. 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.