United Athletic Conference

 

Grand Canyon senior outside hitter Yeny Murillo and junior Libero K.J. Adams have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Jan. 25 through Jan. 31.

 

Murillo, a Andalucia, Colombia native, finished the week averaging 5.14 kills per set to lead the conference and rank fourth in the country in that category. Murillo tallied 15 kills on Monday to lead the Lopes to a win in straight sets. She also finished with 21 kills to average 5.25 kills per set on Tuesday as GCU took the match in four sets. In addition, the senior tacked on 16 digs and one solo block over the two matches.

 

Adams, a Mont Belvieu, Texas native, averaged a WAC-best 6.43 digs per set, which is also good for second-best in the nation, as the Lopes swept Tarleton last week. On Monday, Adams posted 21 total digs to average 7.00 digs per set. She backed up that performance with a 24 dig outing on Tuesday to average 6.00 digs per set while also adding two service aces.

 

Other offensive nominees included: California Baptist's Christine Graf led the Lancers past Life Pacific as she averaged 3.75 kills per set on .583 hitting while recording only one error in four sets… Dixie State's Megan Treanor averaged a double-double with 10.0 kills per match and 15.5 assists per match to go along with five total blocks on the road against NM State… NM State's Katie Birtcil averaged 2.63 kills per set as she recorded 21 kills on 41 attacks to lead the Aggies over Dixie State in a pair of matches last week… Tarleton's Kayla Brannon recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 45 assists and 14 digs in the Texans' second match against GCU.

 

Other defensive nominees included: California Baptist's Paige Johnstone led the Lancers' defense with a match-high 16 digs while also posting a perfect reception percentage in their win over Life Pacific… Dixie State's Lauolive Tonga tallied eight total blocks last week, including posting five blocks and one dig on Tuesday against NM State… NM State's Darian Markham had nearly identical numbers in both of the Aggies' wins last week, finishing with 12 digs in both matches to lead the Aggies past Dixie State… Tarleton's Ana Costas finished the week averaging 5.29 digs per set and currently sits at a WAC-best 62 total digs on the season.

 

With two weeks in the books, California Baptist leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.400), assists (14.75), kills (15.50) and service aces (2.75). Meanwhile, Grand Canyon paces the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.095), blocks (2.71) and digs (22.57).

 

Individually, Grand Canyon's Yeny Murillo leads the WAC in kills (5.14) and points per set (5.30), while California Baptist's Christine Graf is tops in hitting percentage (.583). GCU's Klaire Mitchell records the most assists per set at 12.57 while her teammate K.J. Adams leads the conference in digs (6.43). The Lopes also have the league's top blocker in Hannah Eskes as she averages 1.43 blocks per set. Lastly, California Baptist's Tesa Oaks and Paige Johnstone are tied for the most service aces per set at 1.00.

 

Grand Canyon ranks inside the top-10 in the nation in four team categories and four individual categories after opening their season at home against WAC newcomer Tarleton last week. As a team, the Lopes rank first among all Division I programs in both digs per set (22.57) and team attacks per set (46.14). They also rank sixth in assists per set (14.00) and eighth in kills per set (15.00).

 

Individually, Klaire Mitchell ranks third in assists per set (12.57) while Yeny Murillo sits in third in attacks per set (13.43) and sixth in kills per set (5.14). Add K.J. Adams to that list as she ranks third in the country in digs per set (6.43).

 

NM State also boasts an Aggie ranked in the top-10 as Lia Mosher carries the eighth-highest hitting percentage, hitting at a .517 clip.