United Athletic Conference

 

Abilene Christian outside hitter Lindsey Toney and Sam Houston middle blocker McKenzie Morvant have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of August 23 through August 29. Additionally, Grand Canyon's McKenzie Wise has earned Freshman of the Week honors.

 

Toney, a senior from New Braunfels, Texas, had a monster weekend as she tallied a career-high 33 kills on an impressive .429 hitting in the Wildcats' season opener against UT Arlington. Toney's 33-kill outing is good for second all-time in school history and most since ACU turned DI. She followed Friday's performance with 29 kills in a five-set win over Incarnate Word. On the week, Toney averaged 6.89 kills per set on a .377 hitting percentage while adding 3.00 digs per set to lead the Wildcats to a 2-0 start.

 

Morvant, a freshman from Deer Park, Texas, came away from the weekend averaging 1.38 blocks per set after posting 22 total blocks to lead Sam Houston through the Bearkat Invitational with a 4-0 record. Her numbers are good for second in the WAC in total blocks and fourth in blocks per set. In the Kats' second match of the weekend, Morvant recorded a career-high nine blocks as Sam Houston went on to defeat San Diego State in straight sets.

 

Wise, an outside hitter from Phoenix, helped lead the Lopes to a 3-0 start as she averaged 3.90 kills per set on .329 hitting in her debut weekend. She was also named to the Idaho Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team after leading the Lopes in kills in all three matches. Her weekend was highlighted by a 16-kill performance against Idaho in which she posted a .452 hitting percentage. Wise was also a factor on the defensive end as she totaled 17 digs over 10 sets.

 

Other offensive nominees included: California Baptist's Scherine Dahoue finished the week averaging 3.67 points a set, including a 12-kill effort in a three-set victory over Chattanooga… Chicago State's Yanlis Feliz tallied 3.50 kills per set to help lead the Cougars to their best start in Division I history… Dixie State's Whittnee Nihipali recorded double-digit kills twice this weekend as she led the Trailblazers with 3.08 kills per set at the Boise State Classic… Grand Canyon's McKenzie Wise shined in the Lopes' opening weekend as she averaged 4.3 points per set… Lamar's Malaysia Murdock led the Cardinals with 30 kills on .384 hitting across three matches at the Katrinka Crawford Invitational… NM State's Shaney Lipscomb hit .397 at the Cactus Classic, highlighted by 17 kills on .552 hitting in a five-set comeback win over UC San Diego in the Aggies' season opener… Sam Houston's Morgan Janda claimed MVP honors at the Bearkat Invitational as she averaged 8.75 assists per set, including a career-high 50-assist performance in a five-set win over Houston Baptist on Sunday… Stephen F. Austin's Leah Powell totaled 20 kills over three matches, including 10 kills on .381 hitting against SMU on Friday… Tarleton's Lauren Kersey led the way for the Texans' offense as she averaged 3.71 kills per set on .317 hitting at the FIU Invitational... UT Rio Grande Valley's Luisa Silva Dos Santos was named the New Orleans Invitational MVP behind 2.57 kills per set on .621 hitting to go along with 1.29 service aces per set… Utah Valley's Kazna Tanuvasa led the Wolverines with 17 kills and a pair of aces as they took a set from No. 19 Utah.

 

Other defensive nominees included: Abilene Christian's Madison Lawler lead the Wildcats to a 2-0 start as she averaged 4.33 digs per set, including a 24-dig showing in her ACU debut… California Baptist's Paige Johnstone averaged 3.89 digs per set, compiling 35 digs over three matches at the Georgia State Invite… Chicago State's Andrea Calderon averaged 4.17 digs per set, including recording 18 digs in the Cougars' first win of their 2021 campaign… Grand Canyon's Teagan DeFalco became the Lopes' DI career leader in digs last weekend as she totaled 42 digs to average 4.20 digs per set in a trio of wins at the Idaho Volleyball Classic… Stephen F. Austin's Taya Mitchell was voted to the SMU Doubletree Invitational All-Tournament Team after posting 15 kills and 13 blocks across three matches… Tarleton's Lorin McNeil was a force at the net, recording 1.71 blocks per set in a pair of matches during opening weekend... UT Rio Grande Valley's Veronika Jandova matched her career-high of 11 blocks to help lead the Vaqueros past New Orleans in four sets on Friday… Utah Valley's Bryton Bishop led UVU with 15 digs to go along with nine assists against Utah in the Wolverines' season opener.

 

Other freshmen nominees included: California Baptist's Ashlyn Nevrla finished the week hitting .389, including a five-kill, three-block showing against Georgia State on Friday… Dixie State's Lauren Mena averaged 7.17 assists per set as she served as the Trailblazers' main setter in her collegiate debut… Lamar's Paige Dugan finished the week third on the team in kills (27), fourth in digs (27) and second in aces (4)…Sam Houston's McKenzie Morvant helped lead the Bearkats to a 4-0 weekend as she hit .352 and recorded 2.1 points per set… Stephen F. Austin's Alyssa Ortega helped lead the Ladyjacks to a four-set win over Pacific behind a match-high 25 digs from her defensive specialist position… Tarleton's Trinity Vinzant averaged 3.29 digs per set while also posting seven total kills in her first weekend as a Texan... UT Rio Grande Valley's Luanna Emiliano recorded a pair of double-doubles on her way to earning All-Tournament Team honors at the New Orleans Invitational… Utah Valley's Natalie Palmer finished one dig away from a double-double in her first collegiate outing, recording 14 assists and nine digs against No. 19 Utah on Friday.

 

Week two kicks off this evening as Lamar heads to McNeese State and Abilene Christian plays host to Texas Tech. Additionally, Lamar will see Houston Baptist, Prairie View and Louisiana Tech in the HBU Invitational. Wednesday slate also includes two matches with Tarleton at home against Eastern Washington and Seattle U on thea road against Montana. UT Rio Grande Valley is back on the court on Thursday afternoon with matchups against UMBC and TCU. The Vaqeros will also be facing Nicholls State in the Cowtown Classic. Utah Valley also begins its week on Thursday as the Wolverines take on Hawaii. UVU follows that match with a contest against Cal Poly. Meanwhile, it's a battle of the Lumberjacks in Nacagdoches, Texas, as Stephen F. Austin hosts Northern Arizona, Louisiana and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the SFA Tournament.

 

Sam Houston is set to compete in the UT Arlington Tournament where they will take on Tulsa, North Texas and UTA. Dixie also stays in its home state as they face Michigan State, BYU and Weber State in the BYU Invitational. NM State will be on its brand new home court to host the Springhill Suites Invitational, welcoming Northwestern, Arizona and UTEP. Chicago State hosts its lone tournament of the season as they face Niagara, North Dakota State and Charlotte in the Windy City Classic.

 

Continuing with the trend of non-conference tournaments, California Baptist will head to Brookings, S.D., to compete in the South Dakota State Tournament againts the likes of Wichita State, South Dakota State and Montana. Seattle U heads across town to compete in the Gonzaga Invitational where they will meet up with Air Force, Gonzaga and Oklahoma. Tarleton is slated for a trip to California to take on Pacific, California and UC San Diego in the Pacific Tournament. Abilene Christian adds New Mexico, Green Bay and Texas Southern to its schedule as they host the Wildcat Classic. Grand Canyon will also be at home for the GCU Classic, facing Western Carolina, Rider and Villanova.

 

Volleyball drama was on full display in week one of action as both Abilene Christian and NM State won five-set matches after falling behind 0-2 after two sets. The Wildcats completed the feat against Incarnate Word on Friday, Aug. 27 as they fell 18-25 in set one and 21-25 in set two. They would go on to claim the match win behind three-straight set victories (25-21, 25-21, 15-11). In the win, ACU was led by Lindsey Toney's 29 kills and four aces while Madison Rohre added 53 assists.

 

Meanwhile, the Aggies picked up a five-set victory over UC Davis in their season opener. After dropping the opening two sets, NM State came storming back to win three straight (25-19, 25-20, 15-10) to claim its first win of the season. Shaney Lipscomb paced the Aggies in kills with 17 while Darian Markham held her own on the defensive end with a match-high 22 digs.

 

With twelve of the thirteen WAC schools first week of play coming at a pre-conference tournament, there was plenty of opportunity to shine against unfamiliar opponents. 11 athletes from five WAC schools earned honors for their play last weekend, including a trio of tournament MVP's. Abilene Christian's Lindsey Toney, Grand Canyon's Klaire Mitchell and Sam Houston's Morgan Janda each claimed MVP honors at their respective tournaments. Below is the complete list of athletes who garnered all-tournament team recognition:

 

Lindsey Toney, Abilene Christian - ACU Invitational (MVP)

Madison Rohre, Abilene Christian - ACU Invitational

Christine Graf, California Baptist - Georgia State Invitational

Klaire Mitchell, Grand Canyon - Idaho Volleyball Classic (MVP)

McKenzie Wise, Grand Canyon - Idhao Volleyball Classic

Hannah Eskes, Grand Canyon - Idaho Volleyball Classic

Morgan Janda, Sam Houston - Bearkat Invitational (MVP)

Breanne Chausse, Sam Houston - Bearkat Invitational

Ashley Lewis, Sam Houston - Bearkat Invitational

Luisa Silva Dos Santos, UT Rio Grande Valley - New Orleans Invitational

Luanna Emiliano, UT Rio Grande Valley - New Orleans Invitational

 

Sam Houston picked up its fourth win of the season and maintained its undefeated start in one of the most competitive matches you will find. In the Bearkat Invitational finale, Sam Houston took down Houston Baptist in a five-set thriller in which three of the sets were played past 25. The Kats ultimately won 27-25, 25-17, 26-24, 30-28, 15-12 as Morgan Janda turned in an impressive performance with 50 assists. Breanne Chausse led the way for Sam Houston with 24 kills.

 

With the addition of several new programs to volleyball in the Western Athletic Conference, Stephen F. Austin is the coaches' pick to take home the regular season trophy in the Southwest Division while Utah Valley earned the nod in the West Division.

 

Southwest Division preseason favorite Stephen F. Austin heads to the WAC following a 13-1 overall record and a regular season title in the Southland Conference just last year. The Lumberjacks landed four of six possible first-place votes and 24 total points to finish atop the poll. Sam Houston was closely behind as they earned the remaining two first-place votes and 21 points. Tarleton saw its name in the third spot with 15 points followed by Abilene Christian who came in fourth with 13 points. UT Rio Grande Valley and Lamar rounded out the poll, finishing with 11 points and six points, respectively.

 

Coming off their first WAC Tournament Championship in school history, Utah Valley received four of the seven first-place votes and 34 total points to earn the top spot in the West Division. NM State earned the remaining three first-place votes to finish in second place with 33 points, followed by Grand Canyon which was slotted in third with 26 points. California Baptist picked up 20 points as they were selected fourth while Dixie State finished with 16 points to claim fifth. Chicago State collected 10 points for the sixth spot and Seattle U completed the West Division poll with six points of its own.

 

Utah Valley senior outside hitter Kazna Tanuvasa was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year. NM State had the most players named to the preseason All-WAC team as the Aggies garnered four spots. Carly Aigner-Swesey, Victoria Barrett, Shaney Lipscomb and Lia Mosher each represent NM State on the Preseason All-WAC team. Joining them is Grand Canyon's Hannah Eskes and Klaire Mitchell, Sam Houston's Morgan Janda and Ashley Lewis and Stephen F. Austin's Taya Mitchell and Leah Powell. Along with the Wolverines, Chicago State, Dixie State and Tarleton each landed one player on the Preseason All-WAC Team. The Cougars' Yanlis Feliz, the Trailblazers' Megan Treanor and the Texans' Lauren Kersey each earned honors.

 

The Western Athletic Conference is a little bit bigger this season as Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin have all joined the party. Due to the increase from eight teams to 12 teams, the league will play in a divisional format this season.

 

The Fall 2021 WAC Volleyball Tournament will be held Nov. 18-20 at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M. and will include all six eligible teams.

 

Match 1 - No. 1 Seed vs. No. 8 Seed, 10 a.m. MT

Match 2 - No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 1 p.m. MT

Match 3 - No. 2 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed, 4 p.m. MT

Match 4 - No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed, 7 p.m. MT

 

Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 4 p.m. MT

Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 7 p.m. MT

 

Match 7 - Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 7 p.m. MT

 

The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship return to its normal 64-team format following a 48-team bracket in the Spring 2021. The bracket will consist of 32 automatic qualifiers and 32 at-large teams. The final site of the 2021 NCAA Championship will be Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Semifinals will be held December 16 while the championship will be held on Decemer 18.