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UTAH VALLEY'S THOMPSON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley junior outside hitter Lexi Thompson has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 7-13. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The South Jordan, Utah, native helped lead Utah Valley to a pair of crucial WAC wins last week to tie for second place in the WAC regular season standings and clinch the No. 2 seed for the WAC Tournament. Thompson averaged 4.00 kills on .393 hitting, 4.43 points, 0.86 blocks and 0.86 digs for the week. She opened the week with seven kills, a .312 hitting clip, three digs and two blocks in a sweep of Grand Canyon. On Saturday, Thompson led her team to a thrilling five-set victory over CSU Bakersfield by putting up a team-high 21 kills on a solid .425 hitting performance. She also added four blocks and three digs in the battle for the No. 2 seed at this week's WAC Tournament. With the big week, Thompson now leads the Wolverines offensively on the season with 305 total kills and ranks sixth in the WAC in conference-only play with an average of 3.40 kills per set.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Carol Grasso averaged 5.25 kills, 2.62 digs and 075 service aces per set as the Roadrunners went 1-1 last week ... Tatyana Battle of NM State averaged 4.12 kills, 3.38 digs and 0.88 blocks per set last week ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Alisha Watson averaged 4.43 kills, 2.14 digs and 0.71 blocks per set as the Vaqueros went 1-1 last week.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State currently leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.154), assists (13.21) and kills (14.38), while UMKC is tops in hitting percentage (.252). Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (3.00), CSU Bakersfield U is tops in service aces (1.59) and UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in digs (15.98).
Individually, UMKC's Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.441), while teammate Kaylyn Brandt leads the league in assists (11.05). CSU Bakersfield's Carol Grasso is tops in kills (4.11), service aces (0.62) and points (4.97), while Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the WAC in blocks (1.48) and teammate Nakisha Willden is tops in digs (4.99).
In WAC matches only, NM State leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.141), assists (13.22) and kills (14.47), while UMKC is tops in hitting percentage (.241). Utah Valley leads the WAC in blocks (3.02), CSU Bakersfield is tops in service aces (2.04) and UT Rio Grande Valley is tops in digs (15.63).
Individually in WAC matches, Hagedorn leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.449), while Brandt is tops in assists (11.17). Grasso leads the league in kills (4.47), service aces (0.87) and points (5.59), while Dennison is tops in blocks (1.46) and Willden leads the league in digs (5.53).
NM STATE CLINCHES SECOND STRAIGHT OF WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
With a 3-2 win at Chicago State on Nov. 10, NM State clinched its second-straight WAC regular-season title and third in the last four years. The win also secured the No. 1 seed for NM State at the WAC Tournament, which will be held at the Pan American Center where the Aggies have won 41 matches in the last four seasons.
2016 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2016 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held this Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 17-19, at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M., and will include the top six eligible teams in the regular-season standings.
All-session passes are $25 for adults, $10 for youth (ages 3-12) and free for children (two and under) and students from participating WAC schools with a valid ID. Single-session passes are $12 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 3-12). Tickets can be purchased by calling the Pan American Center box office at (575) 646-1420.
GRASSO BREAKS WAC SERVICE ACE RECORDS
CSU Bakersfield senior outside hitter Carol Grasso set the WAC records for service aces (46) and service aces per set (0.87) in a single season for WAC matches only. Grasso, who ranks second in the nation in service aces per set, blew out the previous records of 0.79 and 33, respectively.
UMKC'S HAGEDORN SECOND NATIONALLY IN HITTING PERCENTAGE
In the latest NCAA statistics, UMKC's Emma Hagedorn ranks second nationally in hitting percentage at .441. She close out WAC play with a .449 hitting percentage, tied for the eighth-best clip in WAC matches only in conference history.
UTAH VALLEY'S WILLDEN RANKS THIRD ALL-TIME IN WAC DIGS
Utah Valley senior libero Nakisha Willden finished WAC play with 326 digs for an average of 5.53 per set. Both rank third all-time in WAC single-season history for WAC matches only.
UTRGV POSTS FIRST .500 RECORD SINCE 2003
With an overall record of 18-13 and a 7-7 WAC mark, UT Rio Grande Valley has assured itself its first .500 or better record since the 2003 season when it went 19-15. The Vaqueros have only won 18 or more matches three other times in their Division I history - in 2003 (19-15), 1996 (19-15) and 1995 (18-14). UTRGV also won seven conference matches in a season for the first time in NCAA Division I program history.
UTAH VALLEY EXTENDS PROGRAM RECORDS FOR FIVE SET MATCHES
With a five-set victory over CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 12, Utah Valley extended its program record for five-set victories in a season at the Division I level with seven. The Wolverines also extended the program record for five-set thrillers in a season with 10, as they are now 7-3 in 2016 in five-set matches, which includes a 4-2 mark in WAC play.
CSUB BREAKS PROGRAM RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE WINS
When it defeated Seattle U on Nov. 10, CSU Bakersfield extended its winning streak to seven matches, a program Division I record for consecutive victories. The streak ended on Nov. 12 when the Roadrunners fell in five sets at Utah Valley.
UTRGV'S SILVA BREAKS SEASON BLOCKING RECORDS
On Nov. 5 against NM State, UT Rio Grande Valley freshman middle blocker Barbara Silva broke the program single-season record for total blocks and now has 145. Earlier this season she broke the program record for block assists and now has 132. Silva is currently averaging 1.21 blocks per set, the best single-season average in program history. Sophomore teammate Alexandra Ecker is close behind in third place with 1.03 blocks per set, while junior Bojana Mitrovic ranks fourth with 0.94 blocks per set.