Monday, November 18, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington setter Taylor Dillard is among nine GNAC Red Lion Player of the Week honorees for the Week of Nov. 11-17. 

Dillard led the Vikings to a pair of 3-0 wins as WWU took a one-match lead in the GNAC volleyball race.

This week's honorees include:

Volleyball

Offense -  Taylor Dillard, Western Washington (S, 5-8, Jr., Milton, WA – Fife) and Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (S, 5-9, Jr., Ripon, CA) ... Setters Dillard and Terpstra each had 48 assists in 3-1 wins over regionally-ranked teams. Dillard had 81 assists in seven sets including 48 in Thursday’s 3-1 win at No. 9 Alaska Anchorage, as the Vikings reduced their magic number to clinching the GNAC’s automatic berth in the NCAA West Regionals to one.  Dillard’s setting helped the Vikings hit .362 including .467 (46-3-92) in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Fairbanks. Dillard also had nine digs, seven blocks and five kills.  “We had great team hitting and even distribution,” WWU coach Diane Flick said.  Five different players had at least 14 kills for the Vikings ... Terpstra had 48 kills as NNU beat No. 6 Central Washington.  She also had 11 digs, three blocks and three kills.

Defense – Nikki Lowell, Seattle Pacific (MB, 5-10, Sr., Claremont, CA – Gonzaga) had 28 kills and 14 blocks to join both the 1,000 kill and 400 block club in road wins at Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon.  Lowell, who hit at a .423 clip (28-6-52), improved her career totals to 1.027 and 411, respectively.  She ranks second in the latter category on the GNAC all-time career list.

Honorable Mention – Julia Wabinga, Saint Martin’s (OH, 5-8, So., Olympia, WA – North Thurston); Emily Boerger, Western Washington (MB, 6-1, Sr., Marysville, WA - Pilchuck); Taylor Roberts, Northwest Nazarene (L, 5-5, Jr., Nampa, ID); Linden Firethorne, Central Washington (OH. 6-0, So., Clinton, WA – South Whidbey); Kaitlin Quirk, Central Washington (MB, 6-1, So., Ellensburg, WA); Jordin Ramos, Western Oregon (S, 5-5, Jr., Makakilo, HI ); Megan Triggs, Western Oregon (DS, 5-6, Sr., Olympia, WA).

Football

Offense – Jordan Todd, Central Washington (RB, 5-6, 186, So., Bellevue, WA - Interlake) and Dasmen Stewart, Azusa Pacific (QB, 6-4, 225, Sr., Oxnard, CA) ... Todd rushed for 226 yards on 24 carries including a 55-yard touchdown run in the second quarter in becoming the 12th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-yard barrier.  Todd, who missed one full game with an injury and half of another contest, completed the season with 1,213 yards and nine touchdowns ... Stewart completed 10 of 15 passes for 252 yards as the Cougars ran their win streak to seven games with a 28-19 road win at Simon Fraser.  Stewart’s 16.8 yards per attempt and 25.2 yards per completion were both just shy of the GNAC single-game records of 17.8 and 26.5, respectively.

Defense – Ridge Nielsen, Central Washington (LB, 5-11, 231, Sr., Mesa, AZ – Mountain View) had 10 tackles, including 3 ½ for losses of 20 yards as the Wildcats defeated Dixie State 44-0 posting the first shutout in the GNAC since Western Oregon blanked the Red Storm 56-0 on Sept. 24, 2011.  Nielsen helped hold DSU quarterback Griff Robles to 101 yards in total offense including 75 passing snapping Robles’ GNAC-record streak of eight consecutive 300-yard contests.

Special Teams – Jesse Correa, Western Oregon (K, 5-10, 185, So., Mililani, HI) booted 42 and 39-yard field goals and also was two of two on extra points in a 26-14 road win at Humboldt State.  Correa finished the season converting on 10 of 15 field goals, including three of 40 yards or more.

Honorable Mention – Ryan Bergman, Western Oregon (QB, 6-2, 175, Jr., Issaquah, WA); Devin Chappell, Western Oregon (DB, 6-1, 190, Fr., Springfield, OR).

Basketball

Men – Mark McLaughlin, Central Washington (G, 6-6, Sr., Bothell, WA - Inglemoor) scored 60 points in a pair of contests, including 42 in a 95-90 win over Colorado Christian to earn all-tournament honors in the SPU Soxedo Tipoff tournament.  That equaled the ninth highest point total in GNAC history and was the most since John Allen of Western Washington and Parrish West of Alaska Fairbanks had 43-point games in January, 2011. McLaughlin made 17 field goals against CCU, one off the GNAC single-game record of 18 by Gerrit Eades of Saint Martin’s against Alaska Anchorage in 2002.  Honorable Mention – Travis Thompson, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Anchorage, AK – Dimond); Kevin Rima, Northwest Nazarene (F, 6-6, 210 Jr., Fairbanks, AK – Hutchinson); Riley Carel, Saint Martin’s (F, 6-2, Jr., Enumclaw, WA); Marwan Sarhan, Western Oregon (F, 6-8, Jr., Alexandria, Egypt – University of Charleston).

Women- Katie Benson, Seattle Pacific (F, 6-1, Sr., Snohomish, WA - Snohomish) averaged a double-double with 18 points and 12.5 rebounds in a pair of Falcon wins as SPU improved to 4-0. Sixteen of Benson’s 25 total rebounds were defensive, and she also turned in six steals and four blocks while committing just two turnovers. Overall, the senior shot 14-of-25 from the field and drained 7-of-8 free throws. Benson’s 17 rebounds Saturday night against Point Loma Nazarene tied her career high, and she was named tournament Most Valuable Player for the SPU-hosted Sodexo Tip-Off Classic. Honorable Mention – Jordan Wilson, Alaska Fairbanks (F, 5-11, Fr., Henderson, CO); Dana Goularte, Western Oregon (F, 6-0, Jr., Port Orchard, WA); Jessica VanDyke, Central Washington (G, 5-9, Sr., Chester, MT); Megan Hingston, Northwest Nazarene (G, 5-9, Sr., Keizer, OR).