United Athletic Conference

 

Grand Canyon senior outside hitter Yeny Murillo and Tarleton junior defensive specialist Ana Costas have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Feb. 1 through Feb. 9.

 

Murillo, an Andalucia, Colombia native, earned her second straight player of the week award behind a pair of dominating performances as the Lopes swept Dixie State in both of their matches last week. Murillo averaged 6.17 kills per set while hitting at a .356 clip against the Trailblazers. She also broke the program's Division I-era record for kills in a three-set match twice, posting a record 18 kills on Monday then resetting the record with 19 kills on Tuesday. On the season, Murillo ranks fourth in the nation and first in the WAC with 5.40 during the Lopes' six-match span.

 

Costas, a Gurabo, Puerto Rico native, posted four straight matches with 20 or more digs as she helped the Texans put together a three-match win streak. On Saturday against UT Arlington, Costas averaged 6.67 digs per set in a straight sweep of the Mavericks. She then collected 26 digs in a five-set thriller with Seattle U as Tarleton earned their first WAC win in program history. Costas' best performance of the week came in a three-set sweep of Seattle U, in which she averaged 9.00 digs per set to leave her with a 5.39 digs per set average for the week.

 

Other offensive nominees included: California Baptist's Cali Hoye averaged 4.13 kills per set over the last four matches to go along with three double-doubles and five aces in that span… Dixie State's Meagan Treanor led the Trailblazers past UT Rio Grande Valley as she averaged 16.5 kills, 25 assists, 8.5 digs and 3.5 blocks during the two-match series… NM State's Shaney Lipscomb finished the week averaging 2.17 kills on .333 hitting as the Aggies put together two three-set wins over UTRGV… Seattle U's Ezgi Ozkan came away from Redhawks' four matches averaging 9.40 assists per set to rank her second among WAC leaders in assists per set… Tarleton's Lauren Kersey finished with 27 total kills in the Texans' back-to-back wins over Seattle U while also posting a season-high .409 hitting percentage in a sweep over UT Arlington… UT Rio Grande Valley's Veronika Jandova posted a team-high tying 2.42 kills per set on .258 hitting to average 2.9 points per set during the Vaqueros four matches… Utah Valley's Kazna Tanuvasa recorded 18 kills on .389 hitting against No. 14 BYU as the Wolverines handed the Cougars its first lost set of the year.

 

Other defensive nominees included: California Baptist's Paige Johnstone averaged 4.56 digs per set on top of tallying 24 digs to average 6.00 digs per set in a four-set win over Tarleton last Tuesday… Dixie State's Kate Hardy managed a 1.40 block per set average as she recorded 13 block assists and one solo block during the Trailblazers' four-match stretch… Grand Canyon's K.J. Adams continues to lead the league in digs per set (6.31) as she averaged 6.17 digs per set in a pair of three-set victories of Dixie State… Seattle U's Tijana Milojevic extended her double-digit dig streak to 27 matches as she averaged 4.73 digs per set during the Redhawks' two series… and UT Rio Grande Valley's Samaret Caraballo averaged 3.67 digs per set, including finishing with 17 digs in just three sets against Dixie State on Feb. 2… Utah Valley's Kendra Nock was dominant at the net, finishing with a five-match total of 28 blocks to average over five blocks per match.

 

Entering week four, NM State leads the WAC in hitting percentage (.293) while Utah Valley sits atop the league in blocks (2.45) and service aces (1.85). Undefeated Grand Canyon paces the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.107), assists (13.54), kills (14.85), and digs (20.85).

 

Individually, Grand Canyon's Yeny Murillo leads the WAC in kills (5.62) and points per set (5.80) while NM State's Lia Mosher is tops in hitting percentage (.393). GCU's Klaire Mitchell records the most assists per set at 11.69 and her teammate K.J. Adams leads the conference in digs (6.31). Utah Valley has the league's top blocker in Kendra Nock as she averages 1.40 blocks per set. Lastly, California Baptist's Tesa Oaks posts the most service aces per set at 0.62.

 

Utah Valley's Kazna Tanuvasa placed herself among elite company as she tallied her 1,000th kill as a Wolverine. The junior outside hitter eclipsed the mark after recording 18 kills against No. 16 BYU, giving her 1,007 for her career. With 65 total kills on the season, she now sits at 1,038 in just her junior year at UVU.

 

Behind four dominant performances, Grand Canyon ranks inside the top-10 among Division I schools in three team categories and five individual categories. The Lopes rank second in team attacks per set (42.85), fifth in digs per set (20.85) and ninth in kills per set (14.85).

 

Individually, GCU's K.J. Adams is fourth in digs per set at 6.31 while her teammate Yeny Murillo ranks fifth in points per set (5.85) and sixth in attacks per set (13.92). Sophomore setter Klaire Mitchell has also been on a tear, ranking 10th in assists per set (11.69).

 

Meanwhile, Murillo's 19-kill outing against Dixie State on Feb. 9 ranks 14th among DI members for kills in a three-set match. 

 

Additionally, Tarleton's Ana Costas racked up 27 digs in the Texans' five-set win over Seattle U on Feb. 9. This season, only three DI players have recorded more digs in a three set match.

 

It was apparent that both Dixie State and Tarleton were ready for the jump as both squads dominated in their Division I debuts. The Trailblazers took down Southern Utah in straight sets, winning 25-18, 25-21, 26-24. Meanwhile, the Texans also won in three sets, taking down Louisiana Tech in just three sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-16) in their season opener.