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UTAH VALLEY'S STARLEY NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley senior setter Sierra Starley has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 6-12. This is her first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor.
The Twin Falls, Idaho native led the Wolverines to a pair of victories last week to help Utah Valley secure the No. 3 seed for the WAC Tournament. A senior captain, Starley averaged 12.43 assists, 2.71 digs, 0.86 kills on .545 hitting and 0.29 blocks. She opened the week with a double-double of 37 assists and 12 digs in a sweep of Kansas City. Starley followed it up with 50 assists, seven digs and four kills in a 3-1 win over Chicago State. She set her club to a .273 hitting percentage for the week. Starley ranks second in the WAC in assists on the season with a total of 1,024 and a 9.94 assists per set average.
Other nominees included: Megan Hart of NM State averaged 2.75 kills on .500 hitting, 1.12 blocks, 1.00 digs and 0.38 service aces per set as the Aggies went 2-0 on the week ... Seattle U's Katarina Marinkovic averaged 4.71 kills, 1.57 digs and 0.57 blocks per set as the Redhawks went 2-0 on the week ... Ragni Steen Knudsen of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 3.62 kills and 2.38 digs per set.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.230), opponent hitting percentage (.133), assists (13.23), kills (13.99) and digs (16.85), while Utah Valley is tops in and blocks (2.92) and CSU Bakersfield leads the WAC in service aces (1.36).
Individually, Chicago State's Lauryn Dela Cruz leads the WAC in kills (4.08) and points (4.35), while teammates Lacee Adams and Carmen Carvajal are tops in assists (10.38) and service aces (0.37), respectively. Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the league in hitting percentage (.312) and blocks (1.64) and CSU Bakersfield's Emily Lopes leads the WAC in digs (5.49).
In WAC matches only, NM State led the league in hitting percentage (.256), opponent hitting percentage (.132), assists (13.34), kills (14.12) and digs (16.34). Meanwhile, Utah Valley was tops in blocks (3.16) and CSU Bakersfield led the league in service aces (1.64).
Individually in WAC matches, NM State's Kassandra Tohm led the league in kills (3.98) and points (4.20), while Dennison was tops in hitting percentage (.329) and blocks (1.77). UT Rio Grande Valley's Dubravka Vukoja was tops in assists (10.45), while CSU Bakersfield's Aleksandra Djordjevic led the league in service aces (0.43) and teammate Lopes was tops in digs (5.18).
NM STATE CLINCHES THIRD STRAIGHT WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
With a 3-2 win at Grand Canyon on Nov. 9, NM State clinched its third-straight WAC regular-season title and fourth in the last five years. The win also secured the No. 1 seed for NM State at the WAC Tournament.
2017 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2017 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held this Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 16-18, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas, and will include the top six teams in the regular-season standings.
All-session passes are $25 for adults, $15 for youth (ages 3-12), faculty and staff, 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 $7 for youth (ages 3-12), faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased by calling (956) 665-3747 or by visiting the UTRGV box office.
GCU'S TARDY RECORDS 1,000TH CAREER KILL IN FINAL MATCH
Grand Canyon senior outside hitter Natalie Tardy recorded her 1,000th career kill in her final match on Saturday, Nov. 11 to become the sixth member of GCU's 1,000-kill club. Tardy closed out her career with exactly 1,000 career kills.
UVU'S DENNISON BECOMES BLOCK ASSISTS LEADER
The nation's leader in blocks, Utah Valley senior middle blocker Madison Dennison became Utah Valley's all-time leader in blocks assists on Nov. 11. She now has 517 career block assists. Dennison also has a total of 558 career blocks and sits 21 shy of program leader Lauren Bakker's 579. Earlier this season Dennison surpassed 1,000 career points and she is also approaching 1,000 kills, as she has 939 on her career, good for fifth in UVU Division I history.
CSUB'S LOPES MOVING UP SEASON DIGS CHART
CSU Bakersfield libero Emily Lopes currently leads the WAC with 576 digs this season, which ranks fifth in CSUB Division I history. She is six digs shy of the all-time Top 10 in WAC history.
THOMPSON BECOMES SECOND CURRENT WOLVERINE WITH 1,000 POINTS
On Nov. 2 at NM State, Utah Valley senior outside hitter Lexi Thompson recorded her 1,000th career point, joining teammate Madison Dennison as a member of the 1,000-point club. Thompson is the seventh active player in the WAC to surpass 1,000 points and now has 1,048.
UTRGV FINISHES REGULAR SEASON WITH PERFECT HOME MARK
After defeating Seattle U and Utah Valley last weekend, UT Rio Grande Valley finished the regular-season a perfect 10-0 at home. Against the Redhawks, it was the first time since Sept. 16, 2016 that the Vaqueros came back from an 0-2 deficit to pull off a 3-2 win. UTRGV has now won a program record nine WAC matches.
NMSU'S BATTLE BECOMES SECOND CURRENT AGGIE WITH 1,000 POINTS
In her team's three-set win over Chicago State on Oct. 28, NM State junior outside hitter Tatyana Battle recorded her 1,000th career point, joining teammate Sasha-Lee Thomas as a member of the 1,000-point club. Battle is the sixth active player in the WAC to surpass 1,000 points, but the sole junior on the list. She now has 1,079 points.
NM STATE EXTENDS HOME WIN STREAK TO 13 MATCHES
With a pair of sweeps last weekend, NM State extended its home winning streak to 13. After starting the season 0-2 at the Pan American Center, the Aggies have won each match since falling to No. 11 UCLA and have only dropped three sets in the process.
UTRGV'S ZAYAS POSTS FIFTH-HIGHEST SINGLE-MATCH DIGS
UT Rio Grande Valley junior Gysell Zayas posted a career-high 38 digs in a five-set win over Grand Canyon on Oct. 12. It was the fifth-highest single-match total in UTRGV Division I program history and the highest total since Oct. 27, 2004, when Carol Marcengo had 42 digs against UTSA.
CSUB'S HAYNES SURPASSES 1,000-POINT PLATEAU
CSU Bakersfield senior middle blocker Sydney Haynes became the fifth active player in the WAC to surpass 1,000 career points on Oct. 14 at UT Rio Grande Valley. Haynes now has 1,078 career points.
VAQUEROS' MITROVIC RECORDS 1,000TH KILL AT UTRGV
In her team's loss at Seattle U on Oct. 7, UT Rio Grande Valley senior Bojana Mitrovic recorded her 1,000th kill in a UTRGV uniform to become the only active player in the WAC to surpass the 1,000-kill plateau. She now has 1,134 kills in her three seasons with the school to rank fifth all-time, 41 shy of fourth place. She had 372 kills as a freshman at UT Brownsville.
CSUB'S ROBERTS MOVING UP SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS CHART
With 99 total blocks this season, CSU Bakersfield senior middle blocker Haylee Roberts ranks third in CSUB's Division I single-season history. She is eight shy of the all-time single-season record.
NM STATE'S THOMAS POSTS 1,000TH CAREER POINT
In a win over Seattle U on Oct. 5, NM State senior middle blocker Sasha-Lee Thomas recorded her 1,000th career point. She now has 1,126 career points.
THREE UTRGV BLOCKERS IN PROGRAM CAREER TOP 10
UT Rio Grande Valley currently has three players that rank in the top 10 in the program career record books for total blocks. Alexandra Ecker ranks fifth (297), while Barbara Silva (220) and Bojana Mitrovic (212) rank ninth and 10th, respectively. Ecker also ranks second in block assists (273), one shy of the all-time record, while Silva is ninth (204) and Mitrovic is 10th (194).
CSUB'S LOPES POSTS SECOND-MOST PROGRAM DIGS IN MATCHES
CSU Bakersfield senior libero Emily Lopes finished with 25 digs in a sweep of Seattle U on Sept. 28. It was the second-most in CSUB history for a three-set match. On Sept. 30, she posted 35 digs in a five-set win over Utah Valley. That was the second-most in a five-set match in Roadrunner history.
NM STATE'S SIERRA MOVING UP DIGS CHART
NM State senior libero Ariadnne Sierra currently ranks fourth all-time in career digs at NM State with 1,371. The WAC's active career digs leader, she needs 45 digs to enter the all-time WAC Top 10.
CSUB'S HAYNES MOVING UP CAREER BLOCKS CHARTS
CSU Bakersfield senior middle blocker Sydney Haynes has 256 block assists on her career, good for sixth place all-time and 16 shy of fifth. She also has 279 total blocks on her career, also good for sixth all-time at CSUB.
GCU'S TARDY RECORDS 1,000TH POINT
Grand Canyon senior Natalie Tardy recorded her 1,000th career point in the Lopes' loss to Chicago State on Saturday, Sept. 23. Tardy closed out her career with 1,123 career points.
UTRGV PICKS UP FIRST-EVER HOME WIN OVER NM STATE
In a clash of champions, reigning WAC Tournament champion UTRGV knocked off two-time defending WAC regular-season champion NM State in five sets on Sept. 23. It was the Vaqueros' first home win over NM State.
CSUB'S ROBERTS POSTS SIXTH-BEST HITTING PERCENTAGE
Senior middle blocker Haylee Roberts, a native of Bakersfield, led the ‘Runners with a match-high 16 kills on 24 swings with just two errors for a .583 hitting in a sweep of San Francisco on Sept. 15. It ranks as the sixth-best hitting percentage in CSUB single-match history.
CHICAGO STATE BREAKS SEVERAL PROGRAM RECORDS
When it won the EIU Panther Classic on Sept. 9, Chicago State set school Division I records for the longest winning streak (six) and the best start to a Division I season (7-3). CSU also won its first DI tournament since capturing the Youngstown State Invitational in 2004. In addition, the Cougars have produced their first 10-plus win season since 2004.
KANSAS CITY MARKS TWO MILESTONES DURING KANGAROO KLASSIC
Kansas City notched two milestones during the Kangaroo Klassic Sept. 8-9. The team picked up its first-ever win against Northern Iowa and also posted its first-ever win over a Big Ten school when it swept Rutgers.
UTRGV'S MITROVIC SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS
UT Rio Grande Valley right side hitter Bojana Mitrovic posted her 1,000th career point in the Vaqueros' four-set loss to Loyola Marymount on Sept 2. She now has 1,302 points. Mitrovic's career totals come from just three seasons at UTRGV, as the senior played her first season at UT Brownsville.
KANSAS CITY HEAD COACH POSEY EARNS 100TH CAREER VICTORY
Kansas City Head Coach Christi Posey recorded her 100th career victory with a sweep of Marshall on Aug. 26. In her seventh year at the helm, Posey has a 107-94 (.532) career record. She is 41-31 (.569) in WAC play.
UVU FACING TOUGH COMPETITION AT HOME
Utah Valley welcomed three nationally ranked programs to Orem this season. It opened its home slate against No. 9 Kansas, the highest ranked team it has ever hosted at the NCAA Division I level. The Wolverines also faced No. 16 Utah and No. 14 BYU. It is the second-most ranked opponents the Wolverines have ever hosted in a single season after welcoming four to town in 2009. Utah Valley holds a 1-11 all-time record over nationally ranked opponents in Orem, which includes a 3-1 upset victory over No. 17 Utah on Sept. 4, 2009.
UTRGV POSTS SECOND-MOST BLOCKS VS. SAINT LOUIS
In a four-set win over Saint Louis on Aug. 26, UTRGV recorded 38 block assists, the second-highest single-match total in NCAA Division I program history. The team also finished with 39 total blocks, also the second-highest total. Freshman Veronika Jandova came up with a match-high nine blocks, juniors Alexandra Ecker and Dubravka Vukoja posted eight blocks each, senior Bojana Mitrovic finished with seven blocks and junior Ragni Steen Knudsen had a career-high six blocks.
NM STATE FAVORED IN WAC PRESEASON POLL
The WAC coaches selected NM State to win the WAC regular-season crown in 2017. The Aggies received six of the first-place votes and 48 total points to earn the top spot in the poll. Reigning WAC Tournament champion UT Rio Grande Valley finished in second place with 39 points, edging out Utah Valley, which earned the other two first-place votes and 37 total points. Kansas City was fourth with 31 points, while CSU Bakersfield and Seattle U tied for fifth place with 24 points. Grand Canyon and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 14 and seven points, respectively.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
UT Rio Grande Valley senior right side hitter Bojana Mitrovic was the pick for WAC Preseason Player of the Year. NM State placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with five, while Utah Valley had three and UTRGV and Seattle U had two apiece. Joining Mitrovic on the preseason team are NM State's Jordan Abalos, Briana Ainsworth, Tatyana Battle, Ariadnne Sierra and Sasha-Lee Thomas, Utah Valley's Madison Dennison, Sierra Starley and Lexi Thompson, Kansas City's Alicia Harrington, CSU Bakersfield's Sydney Haynes, Seattle U's Katarina Marinkovic and Maja Stojanovic and UT Rio Grande Valley's Ragni Steen Knudsen.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Four of the seven first team All-WAC players from 2016 returned for the 2017 season - NM State's Jordan Abalos and Tatyana Battle, Utah Valley's Madison Dennison and UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic. Five of the seven second team honorees returned, including CSU Bakersfield's Sydney Haynes, Seattle U's Katarina Marinkovic, NM State's Ariadnne Sierra and Sasha-Lee Thomas and Utah Valley's Lexi Thompson. Four of the six All-Freshman Team honorees from a year ago returned - Alicia Harrington of Kansas City, Izzie Hinton of Utah Valley, Marinkovic of Seattle U and Barbara Silva of UTRGV.
2017 NCAA TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The NCAA Division I bracket (64-team field) will be announced at 9 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Nov. 26, on ESPNU. First & Second Round competition will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 2 on 16 non-predetermined campus sites. At each campus site, four teams will compete in single-elimination competition. The two winning teams then compete against each other in second round competition at the same campus site. The winning team from each of the 16 second rounds advances to the Regionals, which will be held Dec. 8-9 at non-predetermined sites. At each site, four teams compete in Regional Semifinal competition. The two winning teams then compete against each other in Regional Final competition at the same site. The winning team from each of the Regionals advances to the championship final in Kansas City, Mo. The 2017 NCAA Division I Championship will be held at the Sprint Center. The National Semifinals will be held Dec. 14 and the National Championship will take place Dec. 16.