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UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY'S WATSON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley senior right side hitter Alisha Watson has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 22-28. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor of her career.
The Round Rock, Texas native led the Vaqueros to the title at Baylor Invitational last weekend, including the program's first-ever win over Baylor, a team that finished last season ranked 47th in the NCAA RPI. Watson averaged 4.45 points, 4.00 kills on .308 hitting, 2.60 digs and 0.40 service aces per set over three matches. In the first match of the tournament, she posted a career-high 23 kills and added 16 digs for her seventh career double-double as UTRGV picked up its first win over a current or former Big 12 institution since 1973. Watson closed out the weekend with 10 kills on .364 hitting to go along with seven digs and two aces in a sweep of Prairie View.
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Sydney Haynes averaged 2.54 kills on .325 hitting and was named to the all-tournament team at the Black Knights Invitational ... Dzeni Hadzisehovic of Chicago State averaged 2.30 kills and 1.10 digs and earned all-tournament team honors at the Memphis Invitational ... Grand Canyon's Natalie Tardy was named to the all-tournament team at the Falcon Classic after averaging 3.23 kills, 1.77 digs, 0.62 blocks and 0.38 service aces per set over the three matches ... Emma Hagedorn of UMKC was named to the Oklahoma Invitational All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.00 kills on .489 hitting and 1.11 blocks per set over three matches ... NM State's Jordan Abalos posted three double-doubles and averaged 3.27 kills and 3.36 digs per set last week ... Matea Mamic of Seattle U was named to the all-tournament team at the Ultra Ankle Challenge after averaging 4.22 kills, 1.89 digs, 0.67 assists and 0.33 service aces over three matches ... Utah Valley's Madison Dennison earned all-tournament team honors at the BYU Invitational after averaging 2.22 kills and 2.11 blocks per set.
WAC HAS 12 PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The WAC had 12 of its players named to all-tournament teams in the opening weekend of play. CSU Bakersfield's Sophie Flemion and Sydney Haynes were named to the all-tournament team at the Black Knights Invitational, while Dzeni Hadzisehovic of Chicago State earned all-tournament honors at the Memphis Invitational. Heidi Carpenter and Natalie Tardy of Grand Canyon were named to the Falcon Invitational All-Tournament Team, while UMKC's Kaylyn Brandt and Emma Hagedorn earned honors at the Oklahoma Invitational. NM State's Sasha-Lee Thomas was named to the all-tournament team at the UNLV Invitational, while Seattle U's Matea Mamic and Maja Stojanovic earned all-tournament honors at the Ultra Ankle Challenge. Meanwhile, Bojana Mitrovic of UT Rio Grande Valley was named Best Attacker at the Baylor Invitational and Utah Valley's Madison Dennison was named to the BYU Invitational All-Tournament Team.
NM STATE'S JORDAN TWO WINS SHY OF 400
NM State head coach Mike Jordan is two wins away from his 400th career victory. In his 19th year at the helm, Jordan boasts a 398-179 (.690) record. He is the winningest coach in program history.
UTRGV EARNS FIRST-EVER WIN OVER BAYLOR
UT Rio Grande Valley defeated host Baylor in four sets at the Baylor Invitational on Aug. 26 for its first-ever win over the Bears. Entering the match, UTRGV was 0-8 all-time against Baylor, including 1-22 in sets. It was also UTRGV's first win over a current or former Big 12 institution since Oct. 20, 1973, a 2-0 win at Texas, snapping a 26-match losing streak. It is UTRGV's first win over a Big 12 institution since the NCAA started sponsoring women's championships.
CSUB'S FLEMION DOUBLES UP IN FIRST FRONT ROW APPEARANCE
Due to an injury to a teammate, CSU Bakersfield senior setter/defensive specialist Sophie Flemion played up front for the first time in her career and earned her first career double-double with a career-high 17 kills and 17 digs against Valparaiso on Aug. 26. Flemion charted 31 kills and 47 digs over three matches to start the season.
WAC STAT LEADERS
After the first weekend of play, UMKC leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.311) and kills (14.44), while UT Rio Grande Valley is tops is service aces (1.67) and digs (17.42). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.185), NM State is tops in assists (13.45) and Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (3.11).
Individually, Seattle U's Matea Mamic leads the WAC in kills (4.22) and points (4.56), while UMKC's Emma Hagedorn is tops in hitting percentage (.489) and teammate Kaylyn Brandt leads the league in assists (11.11). NM State's Jordan Abalos and Ariadne Sierra lead the WAC in service aces (0.45) and digs (5.27), respectively, while Utah Valley's Madison Dennison is tops in blocks (2.11).