Volleyball Voices

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 10: LSU Volleyball’s Brittnee Cooper Selected CVU National Player of the Week

BATON ROUGE – A day after being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week, LSU middle blocker Brittnee Cooper picked up Collegiate Volleyball Update [CVU] National Player of the Week honors. She joins Lauren DeGirolamo, who earned this prestigious accolade during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

 

“Brittnee has worked exceedingly hard in all facets of her game and is very deserving of this award,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She has developed into one of the best middle blockers in the nation and affects matches not only with her kills on offense but her blocking on defense.” 

 

Cooper paces LSU and has powered home 287 kills this season. She has reached 15 or more kills on eight occasions, including three of her last four matches. Cooper’s .384 hitting percentage and 1.39 blocks per set headline the SEC. The 1.39 blocks per frame also rank 14th nationally.

 

LSU returns to action and starts a four-match road swing Friday at Ole Miss. First serve scheduled for 7 p.m. with live stats available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the four-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.

 

 

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 10: Bowman Garners Fourth SBC Defensive Player of the Week Honor

JONESBORO, Ark. (11/2/09) – Arkansas State senior libero Heather
Bowman garnered her fourth Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the
Week accolade of the season after notching 80 digs in three matches as
the Red Wolves posted a 2-1 record last week.

Bowman surpassed her career-high for the fourth time this season with
a 36-dig performance in ASU’s five-set victory over UALR Tuesday
night.  She averaged 7.20 digs per set and notched two service aces
against the Trojans.

She went on to put up 24 digs against Denver Friday night and 20 digs
in ASU’s second five-set win of the week at North Texas Sunday
afternoon.  She also added five assists on the week.

The Fort Smith native has moved into fifth place on the ASU chart for
single-season digs with 593 so far this season.  She leads the league
in digs per set and ranks fifth nationally with a 5.59 average.

Bowman and the Red Wolves will continue SBC play Friday, Nov. 5 when
they travel to Little Rock to face UALR at 7:00 p.m.

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 10: Texas Volleyball: Hooker claims fourth Big 12 Volleyball honor of the year

Senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker earns her fourth Big 12 Player of the Week award of 2009 and the 11^th of her career

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas senior All-America outside hitter Destinee Hooker was named Big 12 Player of the Week after leading the Longhorns to sweeps of then-No.8 Nebraska and No. 25 Texas A&M last week. Hooker’s award was her fourth of the season and the 11th player of the week honor of her career.

 

The San Antonio, Texas, native connected for 6.08 points and 5.33 kills per-set, while hitting at a .333 clip for the week. In six sets of action, Hooker added 2.67 digs and 0.67 blocks per-set to help Texas improve to 18-0 on the season.

 

In Texas’ sweep of No. 8 Nebraska, Hooker connected for 19 kills on .400 hitting, while chipping in 10 digs, a service ace and two blocks. Her kill/dig double-double was her seventh of the season and 20^th of her career. In Texas’ third-set win, Hooker put the team on her back, helping Texas rally back from a 10-4 deficit to win the frame. She paced a set-ending 10-1 run with six kills, including the final three points of the match.

 

Against No. 25 Texas A&M, the All-American hammered out 13 kills and added six digs and two solo blocks.

 

Hooker and her Texas teammates return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 4 when they travel to No. 8 Iowa State. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Central.

  

Hook'em

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 10: UAB's Paniagua Selected C-USA Co-Defensive Player Of The Week

Senior middle blocker posted a career-best 11 blocks in Sunday’s match

(Nov. 2, 2009)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Coming off one of the most impressive blocking performances in the league this season, UAB senior volleyball player Patty Paniagua has been named the Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week, as announced Monday by the C-USA office. She shares the honor with Rice libero Tracey Lam.

Paniagua, a middle blocker from Stockton, Calf., recorded the first double-double of her career and just the third in the conference this season of the kills and blocks variety in Sunday’s match with Southern Miss. She put down 12 kills and tallied a career-best 11 total blocks as the Blazers pushed the league-leading Golden Eagles to five sets.

“Patty played well in both of our matches over the weekend, but she was unbelievable on Sunday,” UAB head coach Kerry Messersmith said. “For a middle blocker to have a double-double is pretty remarkable. Our middles have been one of our biggest strengths this year, and Patty has been a major part of that.”

Paniagua’s 11 blocks against Southern Miss tied for the second-most in a match by a single player in Conference USA this season, and she helped UAB to its highest team blocking total of the year at 19.

The blocking performance by Paniagua was part of a strong all-around defensive match for UAB. Blazer libero Heather Thomas finished the contest with a career-high 36 digs, tying for the highest single-match total by a player this year in the conference.

For the week, Paniagua averaged 1.89 blocks per set and also chipped in 2.33 kills per frame. She recorded six blocks Friday against UCF as UAB opened the weekend with a 3-1 win over the Knights.

The defensive player of the week honor is the first of Paniagua’s career and the first weekly award for a UAB volleyball player this season.

The Blazers (13-14, 6-6 C-USA) have five matches remaining in the regular season. They open a three-match road stretch Tuesday with a 7 p.m. CT contest at Troy. The match serves as the final non-conference contest of the year for UAB.


-- CALL US UAB --

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 10: Tulsa’s Henderson Earns C-USA Offensive Player of the Week Honor

Freshman outside hitter earns her second C-USA weekly award

 

TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa volleyball team’s Tyler Henderson was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after leading the Golden Hurricane to two wins over the weekend, the league office announced Monday.

 

The freshman from Oklahoma City, who ranks 25^th in the nation averaging 4.27 kills per set, averaged 5.50 kills per set last weekend, totaling 44 kills in Tulsa’s two wins over UTEP and Tulane. She also won the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week award on Oct. 12.

 

Henderson hit .255 in the two matches, scoring 44 points for the Golden Hurricane, and adding six digs. Against Tulane on Sunday, Henderson slammed 26 kills and had five digs, and she hit .255 in the match. Friday against UTEP, Henderson killed 18 attacks and hit .250 to lead the Hurricane to a 3-1 win.

 

The Golden Hurricane hits the road next week for the first time in almost a month, to take on UCF Friday at 6 p.m., and Southern Miss at 1 p.m. Sunday.

 

Admission to all TU home matches is free. For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook – search “Tulsa Golden Hurricane.”

  

-TulsaHurricane.com-

Sarah Barth & Karleigh DeLong Garner Ohio Valley Conference Weekly Honors

Barth named OVC Setter of the Week for the second time this season

 

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (Monday, November 2, 2009) – The Ohio Valley Conference named Redhawk seniors Karleigh DeLong(Santiago/Corona, Calif.) and Sarah Barth (Central Community/Germantown, Ill.) their Offensive Player and Setter of the Week respectively for their playing efforts this past weekend. Both players helped the Redhawks to a 1-1 record in a crucial OVC home weekend series.

 

DeLong averaged 5.29 kills per set and 2.29 digs per set from her rightside hitter position. In seven sets she attempted 90 kills recording 37 kills with just nine attack errors for a .311 attack percentage. She also added two service aces and four block assists to account for 41 of the Redhawks 155 points (27 percent of the Redhawks offensive points).

 

In the Redhawks 3-1 loss to rival Murray State, DeLong finished with a match-high 21 kills on 52 swings while committing just seven attack errors for a .269 attack percentage. It was the third time this season she has eclipsed 20 kills in a match this season. Defensively she added seven digs.

 

Against UT Martin she helped spur the Redhawks 3-0 win with a match-best 16 kills including nine in the third and deciding set. The 16 kills are the most by DeLong in a three-set match. Again she led all players with 38 swings while committing just two attack errors for a season-high .368 attack percentage. She also finished with a match-high 20 points thanks to a match-high two service aces and four block assists. Defensively she chipped in nine digs.

 

Barth showed she is completely recovered from a broken wrist as she averaged 12.00 assists per set while also averaging 2.86 digs per set defensively. She helped quarterback the team to back-to-back matches in which the team hit over .200 as the team finished with a .235 attack percentage in two matches.

 

Seven of the Redhawks ten matches in which they have recorded attack percentages over .200 Barth has started at setter.

 

Against Murray State she recorded her third double-double of the season and first since returning from her injury. She handed out a match-high 47 assists and chipped in 13 digs. She also added six kills, a service aces and one block assist.

 

In the Redhawks win over the Skyhawks she led all players with 37 assists. The total tied her season-high assist mark for three matches. Defensively she added seven digs.

 

For Barth, a Preseason 2nd Team All-OVC selection, it is the second time this season and the fourth time in her career she has garnered the OVC Setter of the Week award.

 

DeLong garnered her second career OVC Offensive Player of the Week honor.

 

The Redhawks multiple winners in one week is the second time this season the Redhawks have accomplished the feat. In the season opening week Emily Hughes (St. Benedict/Memphis, Tenn.) and Barth were named Offensive Player and Setter of the Week.

 

This season five different Redhawks have won OVC weekly honors for a total of eight awards. Hughes has been named Offensive Player of the Week twice this season and Molly Davis (Burris/Muncie, Ind.) has been named Defensive Player of the Week three times.

 

The Redhawks hit the courts on the road tomorrow as they travel to Edwardsville, Illinois to take on the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. The Redhawks return home this weekend for their final homestand of the season.

 

Week 10: Kaitlin Sather Named Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Senior Kaitlin Sather was named Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week on Monday after producing a pair of double-doubles to help the Bruins to road victories against #14 California and #4 Stanford last weekend. 

Sather tied for the team lead with 11 kills against the Golden Bears on Friday, adding 12 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. The senior had four kills in both the first and fourth sets, notching the final two kills of the match. 

On Saturday, Sather helped the Bruins snap an 18-match losing streak to Stanford to give head coach Andy Banachowski his 1,100th-career victory. She again tied for the team lead with 14 kills, falling just one dig shy of her personal best with 20 for her team-leading 12th double-double. Sather had four kills in the second and led the Bruins with three in both the fourth and deciding fifth sets. 

Sather averaged 2.78 kills and 3.56 digs per set during the weekend and is second on the team with 2.72 kps and 3.05 dps. During Pac-10 play, she is tops on the squad with 3.17 kps and second with 3.52 dps. 

The Pac-10 POW award is the first of Sather’s career, the 60th in UCLA history and the second this season for the Bruins. Lauren Cook was honored with Pac-10 and AVCA National Player of the Week awards on Sept. 14. 

The Bruins, who jumped up four spots to seventh in this week’s AVCA rankings, face #17 USC on Friday at Galen Center at 7 p.m. Gametracker and free audio will be available at UCLABruins.com. 

--- UCLABRUINS.COM --- 

Week 10: Big West Player of the Week - Kayla Varney

Irvine, Calif. - Kayla Varney (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta HS) collected UC Davis’ first Big West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week honor of
the season after guiding the Aggies to a 20 week that included an upset win over then-No. 23 UC Irvine and a sweep over UC Riverside. 

Varneybecomes just the second Aggie to earn weekly accolades since UC Davis joined the Big West three years ago. Former teammate Renee Ibekwe
earned the school’s first honor back on Sept. 1, 2008.

On Friday, the junior outside hitter posted a double-double with a team-best 15 kills and 12 digs to lift UC Davis to a 3-1 victory over UC Irvine, putting
the Aggies in sole possession of first place atop the conference standings. The win also marked the program’s first-ever victory against a team
ranked in the AVCA Division I Top 25 poll.

The following night against UC Riverside, Varney tallied a match-high 18 digs with six kills and two blocks in UC Davis’ sweep over the Highlanders.
She scooped 10 of her 18 digs in the first set, helping UC Davis escape a late 15-17 deficit en route to a 25-19 win.

For the week she hit .269 and averaged 3.00 kills and 4.29 digs per set. The first-place UC Davis Aggies, riding a six-match win streak, returns to
action this weekend when it visits Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.
Others nominated: Erin Saddler (Cal State Fullerton), Tonbara Youpele (UC Riverside), Dana Vargas (UC Santa Barbara), Mallori Gibson (Pacific)
###

Holly Goode and Kelsey Bohman Earn Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Player of the Week Awards

Goode recognized as offensive player of the week while Bohman named defensive player of the week

RICHMOND, Va. – Two George Mason women’s volleyball players were instrumental in

leading the Patriots to a pair of victories this past weekend, and for their efforts the Colonial

Athletic Association named junior Holly Goode and sophomore Kelsey Bohman its Offensive

and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. It is the second such honor of the season for

both players.

The Patriots defeated both UNC Wilmington and Georgia State at home to close out the month

of October with a 7-2 record.

Goode averaged a league-high 4.14 kills and 4.46 points per set last week. She also hit at a .354

clip with 29 kills on 65 total attempts. Goode added 2.29 digs per set and seven total blocks on

the week for George Mason and completed the week scoring a double-double (18 k, 12 d)

against Georgia State.

Bohman, who leads the CAA in blocks per set, made an impressive 16 total blocks, a

conference-high 2.29 blocks per set. The sophomore also led the CAA with a .581 hitting

percentage with 19 kills on 31 total attempts and just one error. She closed the week hitting .700

(14 K, 20 TA, 0 E) in the four-set match against GSU, which is the highest percentage a CAA

player has hit this season in a single match.

Goode currently ranks third in kills per set (3.24) and points per set (3.71) and is fourth in hitting

percentage among conference players (.298). Bohman, meanwhile, continues to lead the CAA in

blocks per set (1.39) and ranks 15th among all NCAA Division I players.

The Patriots face a pair of crucial road tests this weekend, squaring off at fourth-place William &

Mary on Friday at 7 p.m., then will play second-place VCU on Saturday at 7 p.m. Mason

currently sits third in the conference standings, with the top four schools advancing to the CAA

Tournament from Nov. 20-22.

--30--

New Mexico's Anna Lehne And TCU’S Kourtney Edwards Named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Co-Players Of The Week

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – New Mexico middle blocker Anna Lehne and TCU middle blocker Kourtney Edwards have been named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Co-Players of the Week. This is the fourth weekly award of the season (fifth career honor) for Edwards and the first career accolade for Lehne.

 

Lehne, a 6-1 sophomore from Pueblo, Colo., led New Mexico to Conference wins over Air Force (3-0) and San Diego State (3-1) last week. Against Air Force, Lehne tallied 12 kills with only two errors for a .400 hitting percentage, while also collecting four total blocks. Lehne’s four blocks vs. the Falcons put her in second place on the UNM career blocks list.  Against San Diego State, she posted a .370 efficiency (12-2-27) and seven total blocks. On the week, Lehne averaged 3.43 kills, 1.57 blocks assists and 4.29 points per set, while hitting .385 (24-4-52).

 

Edwards, a 6-1 senior from Haltom City, Texas, led the Horned Frogs to four-set wins over San Diego State and Air Force last week. Against San Diego State, she posted seven kills, six blocks and one dig. In the Air Force contest, Edwards set a TCU school record with an .867 hitting percentage (13-0-15). Her efficiency also ranks fourth all-time overall and third in league Conference match history. She started the match knocking down her first eight swings and finished with five kills in the decisive fourth set. Edwards also had four blocks and one dig vs. the Falcons. On the week, she averaged 2.50 kills, 1.25 blocks and 3.13 points per set, while posting a .514 hitting percentage (20-1-37).

 

 

MWC Volleyball Players of the Week:

Aug. 31                 Karolina Bartkowiak, Jr., OPP, Utah

Sept. 7                   Kourtney Edwards, Sr., MB, TCU

Sept. 14                 Nichole Stillwell, Jr., MH/MB, Air Force

                                Kourtney Edwards, Sr., MB, TCU

Sept. 21                 Kayla Walker, Sr., RS, BYU

Sept. 28                 Cursty Jackson, So., MB, UNLV

                                Karolina Bartkowiak, Jr., OPP, Utah

Oct. 5                     Ashley Rhoades, So., MB, New Mexico

                                Kourtney Edwards, Sr., MB, TCU

Oct. 12                   Karolina Bartkowiak, Jr., OPP, Utah

Oct. 19                   Kyley Sexton, So., OH, San Diego State

Oct. 26                   Megan Munce, So., S, TCU

Nov. 2                   Anna Lehne, Sr., MB, New Mexico

                                Kourtney Edwards, Sr., MB, TCU

 

--mwc--

 

Michala Kvapilova Claims Colonial Athletic Association Rookie Award For Fourth Time

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Michala Kvapilova (Liberec, Czech Republic) continued to stake her claim as the Colonial Athletic Association’s most impressive newcomer collecting her fourth league Rookie of the Week Award Monday. 

Kvapilova averaged 3.00 kills, 2.55 digs and 0.64 blocks per set as VCU went 3-0 last week to pull into contention for the CAA regular season title. 

The 6-1 outside hitter blasted 14 kills and added nine digs when the Rams toppled first place Delaware on Friday, 3-2, in Newark, Del. VCU’s win pulled the Rams within a half game of the Blue Hens with four matches to play. 

Kvapilova is averaging a team-high 2.62 kills per set and hitting .221 for the Black and Gold this year. In addition, she ranks fourth in the league in kills per set in CAA matches (3.47) and third in points per set (3.89). 

VCU returns to the floor on Friday, Nov. 6 when it meets James Madison at the Verizon Wireless Arena at 7 p.m. 

LSU Volleyball’s Cooper Notches SEC Offensive Player of the Week; Tigers up to No. 19 in AVCA Rankings

BATON ROUGE – LSU middle blocker Brittnee Cooper garnered SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors Monday as announced by the league office. This is Cooper’s third SEC weekly award of the season and fourth of her career.

 

“We’re excited that we were able to get Brittnee back into her offensive rhythm last weekend,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She and Sam Dabbs worked extremely hard on their tempo and timing last week in practice. Our ball control also played a huge part in Brittnee earning this award and created highly successful opportunities for her.”

 

Cooper powered home 31 kills on a scorching .600 hitting percentage as the Tigers (18-5, 12-2 SEC) defeated Georgia and Auburn last weekend. She produced four or more kills in six of her seven sets played en route to 4.43 per set average, a full kill better than her season average.

 

Cooper also posted 11 blocks highlighted by six stuffs in a 3-0 sweep of Auburn. The Houston, Texas product enters Friday’s match at Ole Miss 13 kills away from reaching 1,000 for her career.

 

LSU also moved up to one spot to No. 19 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association released Monday. The Tigers have won 11 of last 12 with eight of the 11 victories coming via the sweep.

 

LSU tallied 393 points and are joined by No. 9 Florida and No. 11 Kentucky from the SEC. Tennessee is receiving votes in this week’s poll.

 

The Tigers have opened up a 5.5 match lead over Auburn in the SEC Western Division race and trimmed its magic number down to one to secure the program’s fifth straight division crown.

 

LSU returns to action and starts a four-match road swing Friday at Ole Miss. First serve scheduled for 7 p.m. with live stats available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the four-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.

 

 

Svetlana Simic and Breanna Cullity Recognized by Northeast Conference As Players Of The Week

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – For the third time this season, the Long Island University volleyball team has swept the Northeast Conference weekly awards. Senior Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) was named the NEC Player of the Week and freshman Breanna Cullity (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned the NEC Rookie of the Week nod for the second week in a row.

 

Simic averaged 3.50 kills and 3.83 digs per set as the Blackbirds won two matches last week to extend their winning streak to six and stay unbeaten in NEC action at 12-0. In a 3-0 win at Fairleigh Dickinson on Oct. 30, Simic shared the match-high with seven kills, adding 13 digs. She hit .524 in a sweep at Sacred Heart on Oct. 31, notching 14 kills and 10 digs. For the week, she added four blocks and two aces.

 

Simic has been named NEC Player of the Week three times this season. She also took home the honor on Sept. 14 and Oct. 12.

 

Cullity turned in averages of 2.17 kills and 1.17 blocks per set over the two matches. At Fairleigh Dickinson, she amassed 13 kills and five blocks. At Sacred Heart, the freshman had six kills and two blocks while hitting .400. For the week she hit .391.

 

It was third rookie of the week selection for Cullity, who was also honored on Oct. 12 and Oct.26.

 

Long Island (15-13) will visit Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 6:00 p.m.

 

 

 

- LIU -

REDSHIRT FRESHMAN RACHEL KRABACHER HONORED BY ATLANTIC 10

Rookie Outside Hitter Krabacher Stands Out In Conference Play

PHILADELPHIA - University of Dayton redshirt outside hitter Rachel Krabacher was named Co-Rookie of the Week by the Atlantic 10 after helping the Flyers to their 21^st win of the season and averaging 3.44 kills per set. She  has been named Rookie of the Week in two of the three weeks since returning from a foot injury which she sustained at the beginning of the season.

In her short career, Krabacher tallied career-bests in kills and digs against the Xavier Musketeers on Oct. 30. Krabacher had 18 kills and 19 digs against Xavier, surpassing her previous marks of 17 kills (Aug. 29 – Ball State) and 16 digs (Oct. 17 – Saint Louis).

On Sunday against the Temple Owls, Krabacher added another double-double. She posted 13 kills and 10 digs against the Owls.

Since returning from her foot injury, Krabacher has averaged 3.10 kills per set and 3.10 digs per set.

Dayton is 21-13 and in first place in the A-10 with a 10-1 conference record. The Flyers face La Salle tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET before returning home to host Rhode Island at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday at the Frericks Center.

-UD-