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SEATTLE U'S STOJANOVIC NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Seattle U sophomore middle blocker Maja Stojanovic has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Cacak, Serbia, native led the Redhawks to a pair of WAC victories last week after averaging 4.33 points, 3.50 kills on .667 hitting, 1.00 blocks, 0.67 digs, 0.33 service aces and 0.33 assists per set. Stojanovic opened the week with nine kills on 16 swings and one error as Seattle U earned a straight-sets victory over UMKC on Thursday. She also added two assists, one service ace, three digs and two blocks. On Saturday, she led all players with 12 kills on 14 attempts with zero errors for a WAC season-high .857 hitting percentage, the third-highest single-match hitting percentage in program history. She also added one ace, one dig and a team-high four blocks as Seattle U competed the weekend sweep. Stojanovic's 12 kills against Chicago State was her second-highest output of the season.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Carol Grasso averaged 3.71 kills, 3.00 digs, 1.57 service aces and 0.57 blocks as the Roadrunners went 1-1 on the week ... Katrice Pond of Grand Canyon averaged 3.00 kills, 1.50 digs and 0.50 blocks per set last week ... UMKC's Emma Hagedorn averaged 3.12 kills on .548 hitting and 0.50 blocks per set last week ... Tatyana Battle of NM State averaged 3.83 kills and 1.33 digs per set in a pair of wins last week ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic averaged 2.88 kills, 3.12 digs and 1.12 blocks per set as the Vaqueros went 1-1 on the week ... Madison Dennison of Utah Valley averaged 3.00 kills on .500 hitting and 1.88 blocks per set in two victories last week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State currently leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.157), assists (13.03) and kills (14.06), while UMKC is tops in hitting percentage (.267). Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (3.05), Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.62) and UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in digs (16.80).
Individually, UMKC's Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.441), while teammate Kaylyn Brandt leads the league in assists (10.96). NM State's Jordan Abalos is tops in kills (3.83), while Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the WAC in blocks (1.57) and UT Rio Grande Valley's Fatoumata Dacosta is tops in digs (5.04). CSU Bakersfield's Carol Grasso leads the WAC in service aces (0.46) and points (4.32).
In WAC matches only, UMKC leads the league in hitting percentage (.277), assists (13.18) and kills (13.91), while Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (3.26) and digs (16.94). NM State is tops in opponent hitting percentage (.122) and CSU Bakersfield leads the WAC in service aces (2.40).
Individually in WAC matches, Hagedorn leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.483), while Abalos is tops in kills (4.31). Brandt leads the league in assists (11.18), while Grasso is tops in service aces (1.20) and points (5.30). Meanwhile, Dennison leads the league in blocks (1.76) and teammate Nakisha Willden is tops in digs (6.29).
UTRGV MATCHES LAST YEAR'S WIN TOTAL
At 12-6, UT Rio Grande Valley has already matched its win total from a year ago and has a minimum of 13 matches remaining this season. The program Division I record for wins is 19 (1996, 2003).
NM STATE EXTENDS WAC WIN STREAK TO 18 MATCHES
With a pair of sweeps last week, NM State extended its WAC winning streak to 18 matches. The Aggies went 14-0 in WAC play last season, their first-ever unbeaten conference record since joining the WAC in 2005. NM State's last WAC loss came on Nov. 15, 2014, a 3-1 loss at UMKC.
UTRGV'S SILVA CURRENTLY HOLDS BEST SEASON BLOCKING AVERAGE
UT Rio Grande Valley freshman middle blocker Barbara Silva is currently averaging 1.25 blocks per set, the best single-season average in program history. Sophomore teammate Alexandra Ecker is close behind in second place with 1.16 blocks per set.
ELEVEN OF UMKC'S 16 MATCHES HAVE BEEN THREE-SETTERS
On Oct. 1, UMKC played just its fifth match of the season that went longer than three sets, losing 3-2 to Utah Valley. Eleven of the ‘Roos' 16 matches this season have been decided in three sets, with a 7-4 mark.
UTRGV'S DACOSTA ON PACE TO ENTER RECORD BOOK FOR DIGS
UT Rio Grande Valley senior libero Fatoumata Dacosta currently ranks 12th nationally and leads the WAC with 348 digs this season. She has posted double-digit digs in all but two matches, has 20 or more digs in eight of 18 matches and had a career-high 32 digs against Utah Valley on Sept. 22. With a minimum of 13 matches remaining this season, at her current pace she would finish the season with 599 digs, good for second all-time in program history and seventh in the WAC record books.
UTAH VALLEY POSTS 20 BLOCKS AGAINST CSUN
In a Sept. 17 five-set battle against CSUN, Utah Valley recorded 20 total blocks against the Matadors, the second highest output in program history and one shy of the record of 21. Junior middle blocker Madison Dennison led Utah Valley at the net against CSUN, putting up a career-high 12 blocks in the contest.
UTRGV'S WATSON APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER KILLS
UT Rio Grande Valley senior right side hitter Alisha Watson currently has 897 career kills, good for ninth place all-time in program history. She looks to become just the seventh player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills. Watson also ranks fourth all-time in career service aces (110) and ninth in block assists (141).
UTAH VALLEY'S DENNISON POSTS CAREER HIGH 12 BLOCKS
Utah Valley preseason All-WAC selection Madison Dennison posted the first two double-doubles of her career for the Wolverines with a 12-kill, 10-block outing against Utah State on Sept. 13 and a 12-kill, 12-block performance against CSUN on Sept. 17. Dennison's 12-block outing against the Matadors was a new career high and a WAC season high.
UTRGV'S WATSON SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
UT Rio Grande Valley senior right side hitter Alisha Watson tallied her 1,000th career point on Sept. 17 against Florida Gulf Coast. She now has 1,084 points during her four years with the program and is one of just two active players in the WAC with more than 1,000 career points.
CHICAGO STATE SNAPS 21-MATCH LOSING SKID
When the Cougars defeated Savannah State on Sept. 9, they snapped a 21-match losing skid that dated back to Sept. 19, 2015, when the team defeated Western Illinois in non-conference action. Chicago State has yet to win a WAC match, spanning 44 matches.
SEATTLE U'S MAMIC SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
With 15.5 points at UCF on Sept. 11, Seattle U senior outside hitter Matea Mamic surpassed 1,000 career points. Mamic now has 1,117 career points and is one of two active players in the WAC with more than 1,000.
NM STATE'S JORDAN PICKS UP 400TH CAREER VICTORY
NM State head coach Mike Jordan picked up his 400th career victory on Sept. 2 with a sweep of Valparaiso at the Trojan Invitational. In his 19th year at the helm, Jordan boasts a 410-181 (.694) record and is the winningest coach in program history.