Monday, November 17, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Outstanding efforts by Kelsey Moore of Western Washington and Andrea Terpstra of Northwest Nazarene have earned the playoff-bound volleyball players GNAC Player of the Week honors for the Week of Nov. 10-16.

They are among nine athletes to receive the weekly award.

Following is a recap of this week's winners and a listing of the honorable mention winners:

Volleyball

Offense – Kelsey Moore, Western Washington (OH, 6-1, Sr., Bellevue, WA - Newport) had 32 kills to lead the Vikings to a pair of victories in Alaska.  With Kayla Erickson “under the weather”, Moore stepped up producing a career-high 23 kills, including one to break a 15-15 tie in the fifth set, in a 3-2 win at Alaska Anchorage Saturday.  Moore also had 12 digs and a block in WWU’s two wins.

Defense – Andrea Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 6-4, Sr., Ripon, CA) had a GNAC-season high 11 blocks as the Crusaders, the nation’s top Division II blocking team, had 18 team rejections in winning the GNAC title outright with a 3-2 win at Central Washington. Terpstra was also a standout offensively with a match-high 21 kills.  Both her kill and block total were career highs.

Honorable Mention -  Katelynn Zanders, Alaska Anchorage (OH, 5-9, Jr., Anchorage, AK - South); Monica Grimsrud, MSU Billings (OH, 6-1, Sr., Montana City, MT – Helena); Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (S, 5-9, Sr., Ripon, CA); Taylor Roberts, Northwest Nazarene (L, 5-5, Sr., Nampa, ID - Vallivue); Madi Cavell, Seattle Pacific (MB, 6-0, Sr., Keizer, OR - McNary);Hannah Deede, Western Oregon (OPP, 6-2, Sr., Silverton, OR); Christie Colasurdo, Western Oregon (OH, 5-11, So., Olympia, WA).

Football

Offense – Jake Nelson, Central Washington (QB, 6-2, 210, So., Lake Stevens, WA) and Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific (RB, 6-2, 240, Sr., Oxnard, CA) ... Nelson completed 24 of 36 passes for a career-high 410 yards and four touchdowns in a 40-27 win at Simon Fraser.  All four touchdown passes came during a 10 minute, 14 second stretch in the second quarter and early in the third quarter.  Nelson was also CWU’s leading rusher, netting 46 yards on nine carries, including a four-yard TD run to give CWU a 9-6 lead in the opening quarter.  Watson rushed for a GNAC-record 338 yards and five touchdowns in a 54-0 over Menlo.  Watson finished his season with  GNAC single-season records for yards (2,153), carries (319). average per carry (6.7), touchdowns (29) and average per game (195.7).

Defense – Kraig Akins, Western Oregon (DE, 6-2, 290, Sr., Springfield, OR) had eight tackles, including two tackles for losses in the Wolves’ 18-15 win at South Dakota Mines.  One of the TFLs was a quarterback sack.  He also forced a fumble.  Akins finished the season tied for second in the GNAC with 18 TFLs.

Specialty Teams – Aubrey Reed, Dixie State (WR/KR, 6-1, 195, Jr., Tacoma, WA – Woodland Hills/C. of the Redwoods) returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and had five total kickoffs for 155 yard in the Red Storm’s loss at Humboldt State.

Honorable Mention – Tyler Thornton, Azusa Pacific (FS, 5-8, 182, Sr., Bakersfield, CA); Jamie Cacciatore, Azusa Pacific (K, 5-8, 175, Jr., Orange, CA); Jesse Zalk, Central Washington (WR, 5-8, 160, So., Battle Ground, WA - Prairie); Cass White, Humboldt State (WR, 5-10, 175, Sr., San Diego, CA – Southwestern Nazarene); Alex Markarian, Humboldt State (DE, 6-4, 275, Sr., Chino Hills, CA – Reuben Ayala); Jordan Herdman, Simon Fraser (LB, 6-2, 231, So., Winnipeg, MB); Nathaniel Penaranda, Western Oregon (RB, 5-11, 185, Sr., Vancouver, WA).

Basketball

Men – Jeffrey Parker, Western Washington (F, 6-6, So., Richmond, CA – Salesian) and Joseph Stroud, Central Washington (F, 6-8, Jr., Las Vegas, NV – Sierra Visa/Pierce College) ... Parker scored 43 points and also had 18 rebounds leading the Vikings to two wins in the 13th Chuck Randall Classic.  Parker made seven of 17 3-pointers and shot 51.7 percent overall, cashing in on 15-of-29.  He was named the tournament’s MVP ... Stroud earned all-tournament honors leading the Wildcats to two wins in the Seattle Pacific Sodexo Tip-Off tournament.  He  came off the bench to score 24 points, making nine of 10 shots.  He also led CWU in rebounds (11) and blocked shots (7).  His last basket with one second half came on a dunk to break a 68-68 tie in Saturday’s 70-68 win over Academy of Art.

Honorable Mention – Brian McGill, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-2, Jr., Clackamas, OR); Cory Hutsen, Seattle Pacific (C, 6-8, Sr., Sammamish, WA – Skyline); Andy Avgi, Western Oregon (F, 6-6, 260, Jr., Woodburn, OR); Antoine Hosley, Western Oregon (G, 6-0, Sr., Portland, OR); Erik Kinney, Northwest Nazarene (G, 6-4, Jr., Fairfield, CA).

Women - Leah Bonner, Alaska Anchorage (F, 6-0, Fr., Nampa, ID – Skyview) pounded the boards in her first two collegiate games, collecting 29 rebounds while scoring 25 points in two Seawolves wins. Bonner’s first two games consisted of two double-doubles as she hauled in 16 offensive rebounds, also accounting for six assists and two steals in wins over Chaminade and Holy Names. 

Honorable Mention -  Kaillee Skjold, Alaska (F, 5-11, So., Kasilof, AK – Soldotna); Alisha Breen, Montana State Billings (F, 5-10, So., Choteau, MT – Choteau); Lexi Tubbs, Northwest Nazarene (G, 5-11, Fr., Turlock, CA – Modesto Christian); Megan Wiedeman, Saint Martin’s (F, 6-0, Jr., Sammamish, WA - Dana Goularte, Western Oregon (F, 6-0, Sr., Port Orchard, WA – South Kitsap).