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UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY'S MITROVIC NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UT Rio Grande Valley senior right side hitter Bojana Mitrovic has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 11-17. This is her first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the third of her career.
The Novi Sad, Serbia native averaged 3.09 kills, 3.18 digs and 0.36 blocks per set as the Vaqueros went 3-0 on the week, winning three straight matches for the first time since capturing last year's WAC Tournament title. Mitrovic opened the week with 11 kills, nine digs and a solo block in a sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTRGV's first sweep of the Islanders since Oct. 9, 2007, a span of 19 matches. In a thrilling five-set win over Incarnate Word, she recorded her third double-double of the season with a team-high 15 kills and 11 digs to go with two blocks. Mitrovic closed out the week with eight kills and a season-high 15 digs in a sweep of Texas Southern.
Other nominees included: Haylee Roberts of CSU Bakersfield averaged 3.00 kills on .405 hitting and 1.43 blocks per set as the ‘Runners went 2-2 on the week ... Chicago State's Lauryn Dela Cruz of averaged 5.47 kills and 2.94 digs per set as the Cougars went 2-2 at the Chi State Invitational ... Hannah Hicks of Grand Canyon averaged 1.00 kills on .417 hitting with zero errors over three matches and earned CEFCU Classic All-Tournament honors ... Kansas City's Rhegan Spiegel was named to the CEFCU Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 4.64 digs and 0.71 assists per set last week ... Ariadnne Sierra of NM State averaged 4.91 digs and 1.36 assists per set en route to Wildcat Classic All-Tournament honors ... Utah Valley's Lexi Thompson averaged 3.92 kills and 2.17 digs per set last week.
WAC PLAY OPENS WITH CHICAGO STATE ATOP THE STANDINGS
WAC play begins this Thursday and the team that was selected to finish in last place, Chicago State, currently sits atop the WAC standings with a 9-6 record. In four years competing in the league, the Cougars have won just one WAC match.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State currently leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.139), assists (12.91) and kills (13.65), while Utah Valley leads the league in hitting percentage (.219) and blocks (2.70). Grand Canyon is tops in service aces (1.48) and CSU Bakersfield leads the league in digs (17.51).
Individually, Chicago State's Lauryn Dela Cruz leads the WAC in kills (4.71) and points (5.03), while teammates Lacee Adams and Carmen Carbajal lead the league in assists (10.58) and service aces (0.39), respectively. Seattle U's Maja Stojanovic is tops in hitting percentage (.335), while Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the league in blocks (1.52) and CSU Bakersfield's Emily Lopes is tops in digs (5.73).
WAC HAS SIX PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The WAC had six of its players named to all-tournament teams in the final week of non-conference tournament play last weekend. Chicago State's Lauryn Dela Cruz was named to the all-tournament team at the Chi State Invitational, while Grand Canyon's Hannah Hicks and Kansas City's Rhegan Spiegal earned CEFCU Classic All-Tournament honors. NM State's Tatyana Battle and Ariadnne Sierra earned all-tournament honors at the Wildcat Classic, while Maja Stojanovic of Seattle U was named to the Cougar Invite All-Tournament Team.
CSUB'S ROBERTS POSTS SIXTH-BEST SINGLE-MATCH 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.
KANSAS CITY MARKS TWO MILESTONES LAST WEEK
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.
NM STATE'S SIERRA REACHES 1,000 CAREER DIGS
NM State senior libero Ariadnne Sierra recorded her 1,000th career dig against Delaware State on Sept. 8 and now has 1,081 on career. The WAC's active dig leader has tallied 227 digs this season.
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 is the only active player in the WAC with more than 1,000 points with 1,091. Mitrovic's career totals come from just three seasons at UTRGV, as the senior played her first season at UT Brownsville.
UVU FACING TOUGH COMPETITION AT HOME
Utah Valley welcomed three nationally ranked programs to Orem this season. It opened its 2017 home slate against No. 9 Kansas, the highest ranked team it has ever hosted at the NCAA Division I level. Last week, the Wolverines faced No. 16 Utah and No. 14 BYU. The three home matches against nationally ranked foes marks the second-most ranked opponents that 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.
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 102-85 (.545) career record. She is 36-22 (.621) in WAC play.
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.