Monday, November 20, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – Two impressive offensive performances by volleyball players on the two teams hugging the U.S./Canada border lead the selections for GNAC Players of the Week.

Simon Fraser middle blocker Tessa May and Western Washington outside hitter Abby Phelps share the final Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week award of the season after both players shined in victories over No. 13 Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. May finished with a .556 hitting percentage in the two matches with 38 kills and 15 blocks. On Thursday, May put together a 17-kill performance with eight digs and five blocks in a four-set win over Central Washington. She followed that up with 21 kills and 10 blocks in Saturday’s four-set win over the Nighthawks.

Phelps helped lead No. 5 Western Washington to the GNAC championship with 38 kills, a .343 hitting percentage, nine blocks and 41 digs in the two victories. She had 19 kills in both contests, adding 18 digs and six blocks in Thursday’s title-clinching sweep of the Nighthawks. She paired the 19 kills with 23 digs, an ace and three blocks in Saturday’s sweep of the Wildcats.

Western Washington middle blocker Michaela Hall earned the Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week honor after she finished with 13 blocks in the two matches and became the 13th WWU player to surpass 300 career blocks. She finished with nine blocks to go along with six kills and a pair of aces against Northwest Nazarene. Hall then added four blocks with 10 kills and two aces in Saturday’s win over Central Washington.

The big scorers weren’t only on the volleyball court, but also the basketball hardwood. Western Oregon’s Demetrius Trammell earned Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after he notched a pair of 24-point performances in wins over Azusa Pacific and Dixie State while connecting on 70 percent from the field, 70.6 percent from the three-point line and 8 of 8 from the free throw line. In Friday’s 99-87 win over APU, Trammell made 7 of 10 from the field and was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. In Saturday’s 97-86 win over Dixie State, the junior guard again made 7 of 10 from the field to go along with six three-pointers and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

Seattle Pacific’s Jordan McPhee earned the Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honor after she scored 51 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and shot 65.4 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line to be named to the All-Tournament Team at the APU West Region Crossover Classic. McPhee scored a career-high 30 points on 11 of 16 from the field and 8 of 11 from the free throw line with nine rebounds in the Falcons’ 80-69 win over No. 16 Azusa Pacific. McPhee then scored the last 10 points for SPU in a 65-59 come-from-behind win over UC San Diego, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds.

GNAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SELECTIONS – WEEK 12
VOLLEYBALL
Offensive: Tessa May (Simon Fraser, MB, 6-3, Jr., Robert’s Creek, B.C. – Elphinstone): May closed out the season for the Clan by hitting .556 with 38 kills, 4.75 kills per set and 15 blocks in four-set wins over Central Washington & Northwest Nazarene. In Thursday’s win over CWU, May led Simon Fraser with 17 kills, a .552 hitting percentage, eight digs and five blocks. She closed the year with 21 kills, a .559 hitting percentage and 10 blocks in the win over the No. 13 Nighthawks.

Abby Phelps (Western Washington, OH, 5-10, Jr., Manson, Wash. – Chelan): The junior led the Vikings to the GNAC championship with 38 kills, 6.33 kills per set, a .343 hitting percentage, nine blocks and 41 digs in three-set sweeps of No. 13 Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. She led the Vikings with a double-double of 19 kills and 18 digs to go with six blocks in Thursday’s title-clinching sweep of the Nighthawks. Phelps duplicated her 19-kill performance against CWU and also had 23 digs, an ace and three blocks. Also Nominated: Maggie McTaggart (Central Washington), Maddi Vigil (Montana State Billings), Rachel Gondrezick (Saint Martin’s).

Defensive: Michaela Hall (Western Washington, MB, 6-1, Jr., Centralia, Wash. – Centralia): Hall finished with 13 blocks and surpassed the career 300-block milestone to help the Vikings win the GNAC title. She finished with nine blocks against NNU to go along with six kills and a pair of aces. Hall then had four blocks against Central Washington to go with 10 kills and two aces. Also Nominated: Sabrina Wheelhouse (Central Washington), Izela Alvarez (Montana State Billings), Hannah Neumann (Saint Martin’s).

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Demetrius Trammell (Western Oregon, G, 6-1, Sr., West Point, Ga. – Yakima Valley CC): Trammell averaged 24 points per game and shot 70 percent from the field (14-20) and 70.6 percent from three-point range (12-17) and was a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line in two wins for the Wolves at their own Western Oregon D2 Shootout. On Friday, he came off the bench to lead all scorers with 24 points on 7 of 10 from the field, 6 of 8 from three-point range and 4 of 4 from the free throw line to go along with three steals in a 99-87 win over Azusa Pacific. Trammell had another 24-point performance in Saturday’s 97-86 win over Dixie State, making 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 9 from three-point range. Also Nominated: DJ Ursery (Alaska Anchorage), Cody Starr (Concordia), Tyler Green (Montana State Billings), Jordan Kitchen (Saint Martin’s), Coleman Wooten (Seattle Pacific), Daulton Hommes (Western Washington).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Jordan McPhee (Seattle Pacific, G, 5-10, Sr., Normandy Park, Wash. – Mount Rainier): McPhee finished with 51 points and 18 rebounds and shot 65.4 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line to lead the Falcons to two wins at the APU West Region Crossover Classic. She scored a career-high 30 points in Friday’s 80-69 win over No. 16 Azusa Pacific, connecting on 11 of 16 from the field and 8 of 11 from the free throw line with nine rebounds. McPhee then paced SPU’s 65-59 come-from-behind win over UC San Diego by scoring the team’s last 10 points and finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. She was named to the West Region Crossover Classic All-Tournament Team. Also Nominated: Hannah Wandersee (Alaska Anchorage), Alisha Breen (Montana State Billings), Elin Johansson (Saint Martin’s), Tayla Jackson (Simon Fraser), Hannah Stipanovich (Western Washington).