Wednesday, December 11, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington libero Samantha Hutchinson and Viking middle blocker Kayla Erickson have each been named to a pair of NCAA Division II All-American teams.

Hutchinson, who finished the season ranked second in digs in NCAA Division II averaging 6.91 per set, was a first team AVCA selection and was named to the Daktronics second team.  The AVCA team is selected by the nation's coaches while the Daktronics squad is picked by the nation's sports information directors.

Erickson joined Hutchinson on the Daktronics' second team and was a AVCA honorable mention pick.

Also named to the AVCA team were outside hitter Katelynn Zanders of Alaska Anchorage, setter Catie Fry of Central Washington and middle blocker Andrea Terpstra of Northwest Nazarene. Zanders was chosed to the AVCA second team; Fry and Terpstra were honorable mention selections.

Hutchinson, who earned second team AVCA honors in 2012, is the sixth player in GNAC history to earn first team AVCA All-American honors.  All six played for the Vkings.

Erickson finished her junior season as the GNAC's top hitter with a .380 percentage to rank seventh among Division II players.  She also ranked fourth in the conference in kills (3.65) and third in blocks (1.18) in leading the Vikings to a 23-4 record.

Zanders ended up third in the GNAC in kills (3.69),  Terpstra was among the conference leaders in three categories, including second in hitting percentage (.346) and blocks (1.25) and seventh in kills (3.58). Fry finished second in the GNAC in assists (10.58),

ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS

AVCA (Coaches): First Team – Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, Jr., University Place, WA). Second Team -  Katelynn Zanders, Alaska Anchorage (OH, So., Anchorage, AK). Honorable Mention - Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, Jr., Gig Harbor); Andrea Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (MB, Jr., Ripon, CA); Catie Fry, Central Washington (S, So., Tacoma, WA).

Daktronics (SIDs): Second Team -  Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA); Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, Jr., University Place, WA).  

ALL-REGION TEAMS

AVCA (Coaches): First Team – Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, Jr., Gig Harbor); Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, Jr., University Place, WA); Andrea Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (MB, Jr., Ripon, CA); Katelynn Zanders, Alaska Anchorage (OH, So., Anchorage, AK). Honorable Mention – Catie Fry, Central Washington (S, So., Tacoma, WA); Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, So., Oregon City, OR).

Daktronics (SIDs): First Team -  Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA); Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, Jr., University Place, WA). Second Team: -  Andrea Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (MB, Jr., Ripon, CA); Taylor Dillard, Western Washington (S, Jr., Milton, WA).

CoSIDA (Academic): First Team - Emily Boerger, WWU (Anthropology/Biology, Sr., 3.89, Marysville, WA).