United Athletic Conference

 

Utah Valley opposite hitter Kristen Bell and defensive specialist Seren Jardine have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of March 10 through March 16.

 

Bell, led the Wolverines to a series sweep of UT Rio Grande Valley last week. On Monday, she averaged 3.25 kills per set as UVU took down the Vaqueros in four sets. However, her top showing of the week came on Tuesday when she posted 14 kills on .308 hitting in a three-set sweep of UTRGV.

 

Jardine, a senior from Orem, Utah, finished the week averaging 6.43 digs per set to pace the Wolverines against UTRGV. She started her week with an 18-dig outing in Monday's win over the Vaqueros. On Tuesday, Jardine became the all-time career digs leader in UVU history as she finished with 27 digs in just three sets, giving her 1,748 digs on her career.

 

Other offensive nominees included: Chicago State's Berenice Almeyda had a pair of strong performances last week against Dixie State, averaging 3.50 kills per set on .429 hitting across six sets… NM State's Lia Mosher posted 16 kills on .636 hitting in the Aggies' four-set victory over Tarleton last week as she helped NM State clinch the WAC regular-season title… Seattle U's Amaris Carter averaged 2.83 kills per set to lead the Redhawks in a pair of road matches against Grand Canyon… UT Rio Grande Valley's Victoire Nama recorded her third double-double of the season as she finished with 15 kills and 10 digs in the Vaqueros second match against Utah Valley last week.

 

Other defensive nominees included: Chicago State's Andrea Calderon finished the week averaging 6.17 digs per set last week… NM State's Darian Markham averaged 4.29 digs per set as she tallied 30 digs on the week to lead the Aggies over Tarleton… Seattle U's Tijana Milojevic posted an impressive 27 digs in the Redhawks' four-set loss to Grand Canyon on Tuesday… UT Rio Grande Valley's Sarah Cruz finished Monday's match against Utah Valley with a career-high seven blocks to lead the Vaqueros.

 

Entering week five, unbeaten NM State continues to dominate at the net as they lead the WAC in hitting percentage (.308), opponent hitting percentage (.122) and kills (15.02). The Aggies also lead the conference in assists (13.90). Meanwhile, Utah Valley sits atop the league in blocks (2.72) and service aces (1.67) with Grand Canyon pacing the conference in digs (19.38).

 

Individually, Grand Canyon's Yeny Murillo leads the WAC in kills (4.41) and points per set (4.8). Fellow Lopes Klaire Mitchell and K.J. Adams have also been impressive as Mitchell records the most assists per set at 11.73 and Adams leads the conference in digs (5.13). GCU also had the league's top blocker in Hannah Eskes (1.35) while NM State's Lia Mosher holds the top hitting percentage (.455). Lastly, Dixie State's Megan Treanor notches the most service aces per set at 0.53.

 

For the second consecutive year, NM State will be the WAC regular-season champions. The Aggies are 13-1 in WAC play with a series against Chicago State remaining. However, the pair of matches against the Cougars will not impact the Aggies' conference record. This marks the Aggies' fifth championship in the last six years and their sixth all-time.

 

Tuesday, Utah Valley's Seren Jardine became the Wolverines' all-time leader for digs in a career. Jardine moved into the top spot as she tallied her 1,748th dig in UVU's three-set sweep of UT Rio Grande Valley.

 

Grand Canyon's Kaira Moss became one of just two active WAC players to reach 250 career blocks last week. The junior posted six blocks (five solo) in both matches against Seattle U to reach the mark after entering the week with 243 blocks. She now sits at 255 for her career.

 

NM State ranks inside the top-10 among Division I schools in a trio of team categories. The Aggies rank second in assists per set (13.98), third in kills per set (15.10) and ninth in hitting percentage (.305).

 

Grand Canyon has also been among the best in the NCAA as they rank seventh in digs per set (19.68) while Chicago State g seventh in attacks per set (40.25).

 

Individually, the Lopes' Klaire Mitchell leads the GCU offense as she ranks seventh among DI players in assists per set (11.73). Chicago State's Yanlis Feliz ranks fifth in attacks per set at 15.35.

 

The Aggies' Shaney Lipscomb posted a perfect hitting percentage, making her one of only two players this season to finish with a 1.000 hitting percentage for a single match (min. 10 attempts). Lipscomb's dominant performance also led the Aggies to the nation's best hitting percentage in a three-set match this season (.554).

 

A pair of NM State teammates reached career benchmarks. Lia Mosher, a junior middle blocker, tallied the 250th block of her career with NM State. She recorded number 250 in the Aggies 3-0 sweep of Utah Valley as she notched four total blocks against the Wolverines.

 

Fellow Aggie, Savannah Davison recorded 38 total points two weeks to lead her squad and put her over 1,000 points in her three years at NM State.

 

Tarleton's Lauren Kersey was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I Women's Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 24 through March 2. Kersey became just the fourth player in Texan volleyball history to win the award, and the first Division I program. 

 

On the week, Kersey averaged 4.00 kills per set on .378 hitting as she led the Texans to a perfect 4-0 week. The junior posted double-digit kills in each of Tarleton's victories, highlighted by a season-high 17 kills on 30 swings in a three-set win over Chicago State on Monday.

 

In NM State's impressive win over Seattle U, the Aggies set the school record for hitting percentage in a three-set match (.554). Shaney Lipscomb led the way as she set the program record for individual hitting percentage in a three-set match (1.000). Only two players in NCAA history have recorded better hitting days as The Aggies finished the day with 46 kills as Lipscomb claimed 14 kills of her own.

 

Seattle U's Tijana Milojevic notched her 100th ace last night in the Redhawks' road match with NM State. This season Milojevic currently ranks fifth in the WAC in service aces per set (0.40) and has recorded 13 aces this season, giving her 103 for her career.

 

NM State Head Coach Mike Jordan earned his 500th career win as the Aggies took down California Baptist in three sets on Feb. 22. The Aggies are currently 8-0 and are riding a 28-match win streak in conference play. Jordan has been at the helm for NM State since 1998 and has led the Aggies to five WAC regular-season titles and seven NCAA tournaments during his tenure. 

 

NM State's Natalie Mikels recorded her 2,000th career assist in an Aggie uniform on Feb. 16 against GCU. The senior setter from Jenks, Okla., posted 20 assists against the Lopes to join the 2,000-assist club.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The Spring 2021 WAC Volleyball Tournament is headed back to Orem, Utah.NM State was originally set to host, but it will be unable due to current COVID-19 restrictions in Doña Ana County.

 

Instead, Utah Valley will open its doors to Lockhart Arena to host the upcoming tournament after putting on the tournament one year ago. The tournament dates will remain the same with the first round of matches to be held on April 1 and the championship match set for April 3. All six eligible teams will participate in the 2020-21 WAC Volleyball Tournament.

 

The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship 48-team bracket will be announced Sunday, April 4. The bracket will consist of 32 automatic qualifiers and 16 at-large teams. The final site of the 2020 NCAA Championship will be the CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb. Semifinals will be held April 22 while the championship will be held on April 24.