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SEATTLE U'S SAMADAN NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U senior middle blocker Martina Samadan has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 14-20. This is her first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the second of her career.
The Split, Croatia, native led the Redhawks to a 4-1 road record last week, with the only loss coming at the hands of Miami, a team that finished last season No. 27 in RPI. Samadan averaged 3.11 kills on .421 hitting, 1.17 blocks, 0.83 digs and 0.44 assists per set over the five matches. She opened the week with 14 kills on .481 hitting in a four-set win at Middle Tennessee en route to all-tournament team honors at the Middle Tennessee Invitational. In a 3-1 victory over Central Florida, a team that finished the 2014 season with an RPI of 35, Samadan tallied 11 kills on .429 hitting to go along with seven digs and four blocks. Later Thursday, she led Seattle U with 12 kills and a .348 hitting percentage against a tough Miami defense. On Friday, Samadan led the team with eight kills, a .467 hitting percentage and six blocks in a sweep over Bethune-Cookman. In the Redhawks' 3-1 victory over Florida International to conclude the road trip, Samadan finished with 11 kills on .381 hitting and six blocks. Samadan leads the WAC with a .431 hitting percentage, ranks third in blocks per set (1.17), fourth in points per set (3..69) and seventh in kills per set (2.90).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Kelsee Sawyer averaged 3.71 kills on .297 hitting in a pair of matches at No. 12 Hawai‘i ... Elli Woinowsky of Chicago State averaged 3.67 kills, 2.17 digs and 0.42 service aces, earned all-tournament team honors at the Indiana State Invitational #2 and helped the Cougars snap a 27-match losing skid ... Missouri-Kansas City's Madison Mosier was named the all-tournament team at the Jayhawk Classic after averaging 3.25 kills on .387 hitting and 1.00 digs per set over three matches ... NM State's Gwen Murphy averaged 3.64 kills on .414 hitting and 1.09 blocks per set en route to all-tournament team honors at the Wildcat Classic ... Bojana Mitrovic of UT Rio Grande Valley was named to her fourth all-tournament team in as many weeks after averaging 4.73 kills and 2.27 digs per set ... Utah Valley's Madison Dennison averaged 2.25 kills on .378 hitting and 1.50 blocks per set in a pair of matches last week.
WAC HAS SIX PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN FOURTH WEEK
The WAC had six of its players named to all-tournament teams in the fourth week of the 2015 season, led by NM State's Gwen Murphy and Nathalie Castellanos, who were named to the all-tournament team at the Wildcat Classic. Elli Woinowsky of Chicago State earned all-tournament honors at the Indiana State Invitational #2, while Grand Canyon's Natalie Tardy was named to the all-tournament team at the GCU Invite. Meanwhile, Missouri-Kansas City's Madison Mosier was named to the all-tournament team at the Jayhawk Classic and Bojana Mitrovic of UT Rio Grande Valley earned her fourth all-tournament honor in as many weeks at the Cardinal Classic.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.263), assists (12.45) and kills (13.75), while Seattle U is tops in blocks (2.71) and service aces (1.86). Meanwhile, Missouri-Kansas City leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.167) and digs (17.65).
Individually, UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic leads the WAC in kills (3.98) and points (4.47), while Utah Valley's Lauren Bakker leads the WAC in blocks (1.26). Seattle U's Martina Samadan leads the league in hitting percentage (.429), while teammates Kerry Lane and Jelena Vujcin are tops in assists (9.53) and service aces (0.64), respectively. Missouri-Kansas City's Taryn Miller is tops in digs (5.56).
UMKC'S MILLER ENTERS WAC CAREER TOP 10 FOR DIGS
Missouri-Kansas City senior libero Taryn Miller currently ranks eighth all-time in the WAC record books for career digs with 1,439, one shy of seventh place. The 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 1,979 would put her in second place in the WAC record books.
CHICAGO STATE SNAPS 28-MATCH LOSING SKID
When it swept Western Illinois on Sept. 19, Chicago State snapped a 28-match losing skid that lasted exactly one year. The Cougars' last victory was a five-set win over UMass-Lowell on Sept. 20, 2014.
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 506 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 1,000 digs, good for ninth place all-time in the UMKC record books, and 970 kills. If she adds 30 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 (0.81, first), block assists (233, third), total blocks (287, fifth) and hitting percentage (.233, fifth).
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.