Tuesday, November 27, 2012
PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington outside hitter Marlayna Geary and middle blocker Kayla Erickson have been voted to the Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region volleyball first team all-star team.
Earning second team honors was Viking libero Samantha Hutchinson.
WWU was the only team in the region to place two players on the first team and was one of two, along with BYU-Hawaii, to earn a total of three spots on the team which is selected by the region’s sports information directors.
Earlier four GNAC players including Geary, Hutchinson and middle blockers Krissi Kemper of Western Oregon and Erin Smith of Central Washington were selected to the AVCA West Region team.
Laurie Yearout of Western Washington and Marcy Hjellum of Central Washington were honorable mention selections on the AVCA team.
Shelby Swanson of Seattle Pacific was the lone player named to the CoSIDA Academic all-region team. Swanson, a physiology major, has a 3.89 grade point average.
Daktronics: First Team – Marlayna Geary, WWU (OH, 5-10, Sr., Tacoma, WA – Bellarmine Prep); Kayla Erickson, WWU (MB, 6-0, So., Gig Harbor, WA). Second Team – Samantha Hutchinson, WWU (L, 5-8, So., University Place, WA).
AVCA: First Team – Marlayna Geary, WWU (OH, 5-10, Sr., Tacoma, WA – Bellarmine Prep); Samantha Hutchinson, WWU (L, 5-8, So., University Place, WA); Krissi Kemper, WOU (MB, 5-11, Jr., Prineville, OR – Crook County); Erin Smith, CWU (MB, 5-10, Jr., Selah, WA). Honorable Mention – Laurie Yearout, WWU (S, 5-9, Sr., Spokane, WA); Marcy Hjellum, CWU (OH, 5-11, Sr., Kennewick, WA).
CoSIDA (Academic): First Team – Shelby Swanson, SPU (Physiology, Sr., 3.89, Kennewick, WA).
Ibarra Resigns as Saint Martin's Coach
Saint Martin's University head volleyball coach Phil Ibarra has resigned his position at the university immediately.
“I respect the hard work and effort coach Ibarra and his staff provided to the volleyball program over the years,” said SMU athletic director Bob Grisham. “He has always been committed to the program and the university and I appreciate that.”
Ibarra served as the head coach for eight seasons at Saint Martin's and posted a record of 28-169 overall during his tenure.
During the 2011 season the team won seven matches which equaled the most for the team since joining the GNAC in 2001. In 2012, SMU finished ninth in the GNAC with a conference record of 3-15 and 6-18 overall.