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UTAH VALLEY'S DENNISON NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley senior middle blocker Madison Dennison has been named Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 18-24. This is her second WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the fourth of her career.
The Pleasant Grove, Utah native led the Wolverines to a road sweep of Seattle U in their WAC opener. She posted a match-high 14 kills on .542 hitting with just one error on 24 attempts. Dennison also added a match-best six blocks to go along with three digs and a service ace. For the week she averaged 4.67 kills, 2.00 blocks, 1.00 digs and 0.33 service aces per set. Dennison leads the WAC in total blocks (91) and blocks per set (1.54), ranks third in hitting percentage (.311), sixth in points per set (3.78) and 10th in kills per set (2.88).
Other nominees included: Sydney Haynes of CSU Bakersfield averaged 3.00 kills on .350 hitting, 1.14 blocks and 0.86 digs per set as the ‘Runners went 2-0 on the week ... Chicago State's Lacee Adams averaged 9.87 assists, 2.87 digs and 0.62 service aces per set as the Cougars went 1-1 to open WAC play ... Teagan DeFalco of Grand Canyon averaged 3.12 kills and 3.50 digs per set and posted a pair of double-doubles ... Kansas City's Alicia Harrington averaged 3.88 kills, 4.12 digs and 0.75 blocks per set as the Roos went 1-1 on the week ... Ariadnne Sierra of NM State averaged 5.25 digs, 0.38 service aces and 0.25 assists per set ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Ragni Steen Knudsen finished with 17 kills and 12 digs in a five-set win over NM State.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State currently leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.140), assists (12.94) and kills (13.67), while Utah Valley leads the league in hitting percentage (.218) and blocks (2.69). Grand Canyon is tops in service aces (1.45) and CSU Bakersfield leads the league in digs (17.78).
Individually, Chicago State's Lauryn Dela Cruz leads the WAC in kills (4.64) and points (4.95), while teammate Lacee Adams is tops in assists (10.49). Kansas City's Emma Dyer leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.329), while Seattle U's Rachel Stark is tops in service aces (0.38). Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the league in blocks (1.54) and CSU Bakersfield's Emily Lopes is tops in digs (5.84).
In WAC matches only, Utah Valley leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.070), assists (14.00), kills (15.33) and digs (21.67), while NM State is tops in hitting percentage (.219). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in blocks (3.22) and Seattle U is tops in service aces (1.67).
Individually in WAC matches, Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the league in hitting percentage (.542), kills (4.67), blocks (2.00) and points (6.00), while teammate Sierra Starley is tops in assists (12.33). Seattle U's Anna Palmer and Shae Harris lead the WAC in service aces (0.67), while CSU Bakersfield's Emily Lopes is tops in digs (6.71).
CSU BAKERSFIELD OPENS WAC PLAY 2-0 FOR FIRST TIME EVER
CSUB went 2-0 on the road last weekend to open WAC play. It marks the first time since the ‘Runners joined the WAC in 2013 that CSUB won its first two league matches of the year. It is also the first time CSUB won its first two road WAC matches of the season.
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 last Saturday. After dropping their first 14 matchups, UTRGV has now won two in a row over the Aggies. It was the Vaqueros' first home win over NM State.
CHICAGO STATE OPENS WAC PLAY 1-1 FOR FIRST TIME EVER
After dropping its WAC opener to CSU Bakersfield, Chicago State defeated Grand Canyon in four sets to open WAC play 1-1 for the first time as a member of the conference. In addition, the Cougars have produced their first 10-plus win season since 2004 and are now three wins away from setting a new Division I record for most victories in a season.
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, to become just the second active player in the WAC with 1,000 or more points. Tardy now has 1,010 career points.
CSUB'S HAYNES RANKS SEVENTH IN CAREER BLOCKS
With seven more block assists and eight total blocks last week, CSU Bakersfield senior middle blocker Sydney Haynes now has 220 block assists on her career and 240 total blocks, climbing to seventh all-time for CSUB in both categories.
NM STATE'S SIERRA MOVING UP DIGS CHART
NM State senior libero Ariadnne Sierra currently ranks eighth all-time in career digs at NM State with 1,123. The WAC's active career digs leader, she only needs 29 digs to move into sixth place and is 159 shy of fourth place.