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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 Aug. 28-Sept. 3. This is her first WAC Player of the Week honor of the season and the third of her career.
The Pleasant Grove, Utah native helped the Wolverines to a 3-1 record last week, with the lone setback coming in a tightly contested three-set battle to No. 9 Kansas. Dennison led the Wolverines on both sides of the net, averaging 3.46 kills and 1.38 blocks per set. She also hit an impressive .404 for the week. Among Dennison's performances last week was a 12-kill and .579 hitting performance in a sweep of Montana and a 17-kill, .444 attack percentage to go along with eight blocks in a four-set win over Long Beach State. Dennison's 17-kill performance against the 49ers matched a career-high effort. A preseason All-WAC selection, she was named to the Wolverine Invitational All-Tournament Team for her stellar showing. Dennison now leads the WAC in total blocks (37) and blocks per set (1.48), ranks fourth in points per set (4.02), fifth in hitting percentage (.302) and eighth in kills per set (3.08).
Other nominees included: Haylee Roberts of CSU Bakersfield averaged 3.69 kills on .416 hitting to go with 0.62 blocks per set en route to tournament MVP honors at the Jackrabbits Invitational ... Chicago State's Carmen Carvajal averaged 4.08 kills and 3.00 digs per set as the Cougars went 2-1 at the UC Riverside/Cal State Fullerton Invitational last weekend ... Teagan DeFalco of Grand Canyon averaged 3.10 kills, 3.40 digs and 0.60 blocks per set last week ... Kansas City's Mykal Sadler was named to the Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 2.55 kills on .368 hitting and 0.91 blocks digs per set last week ... Barbara Silva of UT Rio Grande Valley averaged 3.00 kills and 2.50 digs per set last week and was named to the all-tournament team at the Oregon Classic.
WAC STAT LEADERS
NM State currently leads the WAC in opponent hitting percentage (.141), assists (12.87), kills (13.61) and digs (18.87). Utah Valley Kansas City leads the league in hitting percentage (.218) and blocks (2.76), while Chicago State is tops in service aces (1.59).
Individually, Chicago State's Lauryn Dela Cruz leads the WAC in kills (4.18) and points (4.64), while teammate Lacee Adams leads the league in assists (11.27). Seattle U's Katarina Glavinic is tops in hitting percentage (.403), while Grand Canyon's Tressa Schuler leads the WAC in service aces (0.50). Utah Valley's Madison Dennison leads the league in blocks (1.48) and CSU Bakersfield's Emily Lopes is tops in digs (6.58).
WAC HAS TEN PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
The WAC had 10 of its players named to all-tournament teams last weekend, led by CSU Bakersfield with three honorees (including an MVP). Haylee Roberts was named MVP of the Jackrabbits Invitational and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Emily Lopes and Sydney Haynes. Grand Canyon's Teagan DeFalco and Claire Kovensky were named to the Cactus Classic All-Tournament Team, while Madison Dennison and Sierra Starley of Utah Valley earned all-tournament honors at the Wolverine Invitational.
Kansas City's Mykal Sadler was named to the Cougar Classic All-Tournament Team, Katarina Glavinic of Seattle U earned all-tournament honors at the SU/UW Tournament and UT Rio Grande Valley's Barbara Silva was named to the Oregon Classic All-Tournament Team.
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 Saturday, Sept. 2, making her the only active player in the WAC with more than 1000 points with 1,002. Mitrovic's career totals come from just three seasons at UTRGV, as the senior played her first season at UT Brownsville.
CHICAGO STATE POSTS BEST TOURNAMENT MARK IN REEVES ERA
Last weekend, Chicago State went 2-1 at the UC Riverside/Cal State Fullerton Invitational, with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Southern Utah and a loss at UC Riverside. It was the Cougars' best tournament mark under third year head coach Brandon Reeves.
CSUB WINS JACKRABBIT INVITATIONAL, ROBERTS NAMED MVP
Last weekend, CSU Bakersfield went 3-0 at the Jackrabbits Invitational, defeating Valparaiso, South Dakota State and Northern Arizona to claim the title. It was the first regular-season tournament sweep for the ‘Runners since CSUB went 3-0 at the James Madison Classic in 2013. Redshirt senior Haylee Roberts was named tournament MVP after averaging 3.69 kills on .416 hitting to go with 0.62 blocks per set. In the win over Valpo, Roberts exploded for 22 kills, the ninth-most in CSUB's Division I history and the second-most by a WAC player in a match this season. Her .559 hitting percentage against Valpo was also the eighth-best in CSUB history.
UVU FACING TOUGH COMPETITION AT HOME
Utah Valley will welcome a total of three nationally ranked programs to Orem on the season. UVU opened its 2017 home slate by taking on No. 9 Kansas on Aug. 31 as part of the Wolverine Invitational. The Wolverines will later welcome in-state rivals No. 22 Utah and No. 10 BYU on back-to-back nights in mid-September. The three home matches against nationally ranked foes marks the second-most ranked opponents that the Wolverines will have ever hosted in a single season after welcoming four to town in 2009.
Kansas' No. 9 ranking matched the highest ranked team Utah Valley has ever hosted at the NCAA Division I level, as the Wolverines hosted No. 9 Brigham Young on Sept. 19, 2015. Utah Valley holds a 1-9 all-time record over nationally ranked opponents in Orem, which includes a 3-1 upset victory over No. 17 Utah on Sept. 4, 2009.