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UTRGV TO FACE NO. 4 TEXAS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT
UT Rio Grande Valley will travel to Austin, Texas, to face No. 4 Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 6:30 p.m. (CT) this Friday, Dec. 2.
The Vaqueros (21-13), earned the WAC's automatic bid by winning the WAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed with upsets of fourth-seeded UMKC, top-seeded NM State and No. 2 seed Utah Valley. UTRGV is led by first team All-WAC honoree Bojana Mitrovic, who averages 3.31 kills, 2.06 digs and 0.94 blocks per set. Ragni Steen Knudsen adds 3.48 kills and 2.39 digs per set, while WAC Tournament MVP Alisha Watson averages 3.11 kills and 1.45 digs per set.
Texas (22-4) earned an at-large bid out of the Big 12 Conference and is the No. 4 overall seed. The Longhorns are led by Micaya White, who averages 4.07 kills per set. Ebony Nwanebu adds 3.67 kills on .372 hitting. Texas advanced to the national championship last season, where it fell to Nebraska. It has finished in the top three in each of the last four seasons.
In the other match, Texas A&M (21-8) faces SMU (25-7) at 4 p.m. (CT) Friday. The Aggies earned an at-large bid out of the Southeastern Conference, while the Mustangs earned the automatic bid out of the American Athletic Conference.
UTRGV WINS FIRST-EVER WAC TOURNAMENT
No. 5 seed UT Rio Grande Valley became the lowest seed ever to win the WAC Tournament when it swept past second-seeded Utah Valley (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) in the championship match to win its first-ever WAC Tournament title. The Vaqueros knocked off top-seeded NM State in the semifinals (25-23, 25-20, 16-25, 25-23) and beat No. 4 seed UMKC in five sets (21-25, 33-31, 25-13, 23-25, 20-18) in the first round. Alisha Watson was named tournament MVP after averaging 3.42 kills on .348 hitting.
All-Tournament Team
Carol Grasso, CSU Bakersfield
Emma Hagedorn, UMKC
Bojana Mitrovic, UT Rio Grande Valley
Sierra Starley, Utah Valley
Alisha Watson, UT Rio Grande Valley (MVP)
Nakisha Willden, Utah Valley
ALL-WAC TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The WAC volleyball award winners, as selected by the league's eight head coaches, were announced at the WAC Tournament banquet. CSU Bakersfield senior outside hitter Carol Grasso was named WAC Player of the Year, while NM State's Ariadnne Sierra was named Libero of the Year and UMKC's Kaylyn Brandt was named Setter of the Year. Meanwhile, Seattle U's Katarina Marinkovic was named WAC Freshman of the Year and Utah Valley's Sam Atoa was named WAC Coach of the Year.
Grasso earned WAC Player of the Year honors after leading the league in kills (4.47), service aces (0.87) and points (5.59) in WAC play. She also set the WAC records for service aces (46) and service aces per set in a single season for WAC matches only and posted double-doubles in eight of 14 WAC matches.
Sierra earned WAC Libero of the Year honors after averaging 4.65 digs, 0.87 assists and 0.45 service aces per set in WAC play. She posted double-digit digs in 13 of 14 WAC matches, with 30 or more digs once and 20 or more digs five times. She was the only libero to earn WAC Player of the Week this season.
Brandt earned WAC Setter of the Year honors after leading the league with 11.17 assists per set in conference play. She set the Roos to the best hitting percentage (.241) during conference play, posted five double-doubles in WAC play and was named WAC Player of the Week once.
Marinkovic earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors after ranking second in the league in service aces (0.51), third in points (4.41), fourth in kills (3.68) and 10th in hitting percentage (.261) in WAC play. She had four double-doubles on the season and all came in WAC matches.
Atoa led his team to tie for second place finish the WAC standings and the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll. His team ranks sixth nationally in blocking and entered the tournament having won five straight matches and 11 of 13.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.154), assists (13.10) and kills (14.26), while UMKC is tops in hitting percentage (.253). Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (2.96), Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.55) and UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in digs (15.65).
Individually, UMKC's Emma Hagedorn leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.439), while teammate Kaylyn Brandt leads the league in assists (11.20). CSU Bakersfield's Carol Grasso is tops in kills (4.09), service aces (0.60) and points (4.94), while Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the WAC in blocks (1.45) and teammate Nakisha Willden is tops in digs (5.03).
In WAC matches only, NM State led the league in opponent hitting percentage (.141), assists (13.22) and kills (14.47), while UMKC was tops in hitting percentage (.241). Utah Valley led the WAC in blocks (3.02), CSU Bakersfield was tops in service aces (2.04) and UT Rio Grande Valley was tops in digs (15.63).
Individually in WAC matches, Hagedorn led the WAC in hitting percentage (.449), while Brandt was tops in assists (11.17). Grasso led the league in kills (4.47), service aces (0.87) and points (5.59), while Dennison was tops in blocks (1.46) and Willden led the league in digs (5.53).
FIVE PLAYERS RANK IN TOP 10 IN WAC SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
Five players made their way into the WAC single-season record books this season. The following are the ranks and categories.
Category Player School Rank
Hitting percentage Emma Hagedorn UMKC 2nd/.439
Service aces per set Carol Grasso CSUB T-4th/0.60
Digs per set Nakisha Willden Utah Valley 3rd/5.53
Total service aces Carol Grasso CSUB 1st/46
Total digs Nakisha Willden Utah Valley 3rd/326
UMKC'S HAGEDORN LEADS NATION IN HITTING PERCENTAGE
UMKC's Emma Hagedorn leads the nation in hitting percentage at .439, the second-best hitting percentage in WAC history. She closed out WAC play with a .449 hitting percentage, tied for the eighth-best clip in WAC matches only in conference history.
UTRGV'S KNUDSEN SETS PROGRAM RECORD FOR KILLS
In the championship match of the WAC Tournament, UT Rio Grande Valley sophomore outside hitter Ragni Knudsen set the program single-season record for kills with 463. Knudsen also ranks sixth in service aces (47).
UTAH VALLEY EXTENDS PROGRAM RECORDS FOR FIVE SET MATCHES
With a five-set victory over CSU Bakersfield in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament, Utah Valley extended its program record for five-set victories at the Division I level to eight. The Wolverines also extended the program record for five-set thrillers in a season to 11, as they closed out the 2016 season with an 8-3 record in five-set matches, which included a 4-2 mark in WAC play.
FIVE PLAYERS RANK IN TOP 10 IN WAC SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
Five players made their way into the WAC single-season record books this season in WAC matches only. The following are the ranks and categories.
Category Player School Rank
Hitting percentage Emma Hagedorn UMKC T-8th/.449
Service aces per set Carol Grasso CSUB 1st/0.87
Total service aces Carol Grasso CSUB T-8th/59
Total digs Nakisha Willden Utah Valley 7th/604
Total digs Fatoumata Dacosta UTRGV 8th/599