TicketSmarter WAC Volleyball Players of the Week Announced
DENVER – UT Rio Grande Valley outside hitter Sarah Cruz and Utah Valley Libero Bryton Bishop have been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Volleyball Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of September 13 through September 19. Additionally, UT Rio Grande Valley's Luanna Emiliano has earned Freshman of the Week honors for the second consecutive week.
Cruz, a junior from Olomouc, Czech Republic, helped lead the Vaqueros to a perfect weekend, going 3-0 at the Pirate Invitational last week. Cruz finished the week averaging 4.67 kills per set on .345 hitting. Her top performance came against host East Carolina as she recorded 22 kills on 42 swings to average 7.33 kills per set. Cruz also added a pair of assists and four service aces on the weekend. The junior now ranks third amongst WAC hitters in both total kills (168) and kills per set (4.20).
Bishop, a sophomore from Pleasant Grove, Utah, recorded a pair of 20-plus dig outings to lead the Wolverines to a 2-1 record during last week's homestand. On the week, she averaged 5.00 digs per set, including 5.75 digs per set in a four-set victory over Idaho State. She also notched 12 digs against No. 15 BYU on Saturday. Bishop now ranks second in the WAC in total digs with 190 across 11 matches.
Emiliano, a setter from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, tabbed her second straight weekly award as she notched her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season last week. In three-straight sweeps, Emiliano averaged 10.33 assists per set and 4.22 digs per set while also tallying four service aces and four total blocks. She also set the mark for most digs in a three-set match across Division I this season as she managed 45 digs in a sweep of East Carolina on Friday.
Other offensive nominees included: California Baptist's Tesa Oaks led the Lancers in both kills (22) and points (23.0) last week… Chicago State's Yanlis Feliz continued to dominate at the net, averaging 5.20 kills per set during the Cougars' 2-1 weekend… Dixie State's Hannah Howard led the Trailblazers in total kills with 27 across two matches last weekend… Lamar's Malaysia Murdock finished the week with 22 total kills and a .429 attack percentage… NM State's Shaney Lipscomb helped the Aggies extend their winning streak to six matches as she averaged 3.56 kills per set on .394 hitting in three-straight sweeps… Seattle U's Amaris Carter had a monster 29 kills on .356 hitting in a five-set thriller on the road at Eastern Washington… Stephen F. Austin's Ariana Pagan picked up Tournament MVP honors after averaging 3.44 kills per set on .299 hitting and leading the Ladyjacks to an undefeated weekend… Tarleton's Kayla Brannon recorded double-doubles against Texas State and UTEP last week as she finished with 71 total assists across a trio of matches… Utah Valley's Kazna Tanuvasa averaged 4.00 kills per set in a pair of matches against Utah State and BYU last week.
Other defensive nominees included: California Baptist's Paige Johnstone posted an impressive 5.57 digs across seven sets for the Lancers last weekend… Chicago State's Andrea Calderon averaged 3.70 digs per set as the Cougars swept both Indiana and Alabama A&M last week… Dixie State's Kate Hardy led DSU in blocks with 12 total blocks as the Trailblazers split their series with Southern Utah… Lamar's Giselle Santini led the Cardinals last week, averaging 3.09 digs per set, including 16 digs in a five-set win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday… NM State's Darian Markham anchored the Aggies' back line, averaging 3.00 digs per set in a pair of wins last week… Seattle U's Darian Goins posted a career-high 47 assists to go along with 2.20 digs per set in the Redhawks' lone match last week… Stephen F. Austin's Ariana Pagan was also big for SFA on the defensive side as she averaged 2.78 digs per set, including a double-double against Houston Baptist… Tarleton's Lorin McNeil finished with season-highs in both digs (7) and blocks (6) in a four-set victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi… UT Rio Grande Valley's Luanna Emiliano had another impressive week, finishing with 38 total digs and four blocks in just nine sets.
Other freshman nominees included: California Baptist's Anna Jackson averaged 2.43 kills per set as she posted 17 total kills in the Lancers' two-match road trip… Chicago State's Andrea Calderon tallied 37 digs, six assists and two service aces across three matches… Lamar's Emily Surin made an appearance in all 11 sets for the Cardinals, finishing with 18 kills, nine digs and seven blocks last week… NM State's Alana Embry hit a collective clip of .360 while dishing out 5.13 assists per set during the Aggies' perfect weekend… Stephen F. Austin's Alyssa Ortega helped the 'Jacks go undefeated last week, finishing with 48 digs, seven assists and four aces… Tarleton's Trinity Vinzant filled up the stat sheet last week as she totaled 25 digs, 14 kills, five assists, three blocks and one ace across three across the Texans' three matches… Utah Valley's Jules Fink averaged 2.70 kills per set on the week while also posting a career-high in blocks with six against Idaho State on Thursday.