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NM STATE'S ABALOS NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State junior outside hitter Jordan Abalos has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 12-18. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Safford, Ariz., native led the Aggies to the Brown Invitational title with a 3-0 record and was named tournament MVP after averaging 6.10 points, 5.60 kills on .431 hitting, 3.80 digs and 0.40 service aces per set. In a sweep of Central Connecticut State, Abalos tallied a career-high 22 kills on .462 hitting to go with 13 digs, one assist, one service ace and one block. In a 3-1 win over Binghamton, she finished with 21 kills, 17 digs and two service aces for her second double-double of the tournament. In a match that took just over an hour, Abalos closed out the week with 13 kills on .500 hitting and eight digs in a sweep of the host Bears. She currently leads the WAC in service aces per set (0.36), ranks second in double-doubles (nine), third in both kills per set (3.66) and points per set (4.15), and sixth in both hitting percentage and digs per set (3.43).
Other nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Marina Sanches averaged 3.33 kills on .361 hitting and 0.67 blocks per set en route to all-tournament team honors at the Roadrunner Classic ... Megan Klavitter of Chicago State was named to the all-tournament team at the Omni Invitational after averaging 3.43 digs and 2.00 assists ... UMKC's Kaylyn Brandt averaged 9.28 assists, 2.45 digs and 0.60 blocks and was named to the all-tournament team at the Arkansas Invitational last week ... Matea Mamic of Seattle U averaged 4.60 kills, 2.40 digs, 0.60 blocks and was named to the all-tournament team at the Rutgers Invitational ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Ragni Steen Knudsen averaged 4.62 kills and 2.00 digs per set en route to all-tournament team honors at the Owls Classic ... Nakisha Willden of Utah Valley averaged 4.31 digs and 0.92 assists per set and was named to the all-tournament team at the UVU/BYU Challenge last week.
WAC HAS 11 PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The WAC had 11 of its players named to all-tournament teams last weekend, led by NM State with two honorees in Jordan Abalos (MVP) and Brianna Ainsworth at the Brown Invitational. Seattle U and UT Rio Grande Valley also had two players honored in Shae Harris and Matea Mamic at the Rutgers Invitational and Ragni Steen Knudsen and Barbara Silva at the Owls Classic, respectively. CSU Bakersfield's Marina Sanches was named to the Roadrunner Classic All-Tournament Team, while Chicago State's Megan Klavitter was named to the Omni Invitational All-Tournament Team. Other honorees were Grand Canyon's Heidi Carpenter, who earned all-tournament honors at the Sacrament State Invitational, UMKC's Kaylyn Brandt, who was named to the all-tournament team at the Arkansas Invitational, and Nakisha Willden of Utah Valley, who was named to the all-tournament team at the UVU/BYU Challenge.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State currently leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.169), assists (13.02) and kills (14.13), while UMKC is tops in hitting percentage (.265). Utah Valley leads the league in blocks (2.98), Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.50) and UT Rio Grande Valley leads the WAC in digs (17.04).
Individually, Seattle U's Matea Mamic leads the WAC in kills (4.15) and points (4.59). UMKC's Emma Hagedorn is tops in hitting percentage (.431) and teammate Kaylyn Brandt leads the league in assists (10.91). NM State's Jordan Abalos leads the WAC in service aces (0.36), while Utah Valley's Madison Dennison is tops in blocks (1.50) and UT Rio Grande Valley's Fatoumata Dacosta leads the league in digs (4.90).
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 1,013 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.
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 last week 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.
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 1,065 career points and is one of two active players in the WAC with more than 1,000.
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.
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 406-181 (.692) record.