Sunday, September 11, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – A very successful showing by GNAC teams in the first D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase has been further rewarded with the selection of eight conference athletes to the event’s All-Tournament Team.

Two players were selected from each pod to the All-Tournament Team. Selected from the GNAC were Northwest Nazarene setter Hailey Cook, Seattle Pacific middle blocker Shaun Crespi, Simon Fraser libero Alison McKay and setter Tamara Nipp, Alaska Anchorage libero Kyla Militante-Amper and outside hitter Leah Swiss, Saint Martin’s outside hitter Rebecca Mitchell, and Central Washington middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse.

As a conference, the GNAC finished the 38-team tournament with an overall record of 31-13 (.704 winning percentage), the most among the three participating conferences. The GNAC went 15-1 in the Showcase’s top two pods, which featured the top-four placing teams in last year’s standings. Alaska Anchorage, Simon Fraser, Central Washington and Saint Martin’s all finished with undefeated 4-0 records.

Cook finished the tournament averaging 10.80 assists in 15 sets and also came away with six service aces. She had her tournament highs in the Crusaders’ five-set win over Point Loma on Friday of 56 assists and 21 digs.

Crespi did her damage for the Falcons on the net, registering 28 total blocks (including five solo) and averages 1.75 blocks in 16 sets. She finished with a tournament high of 11 blocks (two solo, nine assists) in Seattle Pacific’s five-set loss to Hawaii-Hilo on Friday.

McKay finished the four matches for the Clan with 90 digs, averaging 6.43 digs per set over 14 sets. She finished with a high of 30 assists in a five-set win over Fresno Pacific on Fridya and also had seven assists in Saturday’s three-set victory over Cal State LA.

Nipp finished the tournament with 143 assists, averaging 10.21 assists per set, and also finished with 10 aces. She had 30 or more assists in each match, topped by a 40-assist effort against Fresno Pacific, and had four aces in Simon Fraser’s opening three-set win over San Francisco State.

Militante-Amper finished with 95 digs in 16 sets, averaging 5.94 digs per set, while also compiling 10 assists and five aces. Her best effort came in the Seawolves’ four-set win over Dixie State with 30 digs and four aces.

Swiss finished with 67 kills, 34 digs and a .331 hitting percentage in the four matches. Her top effort came in the five-set opening win over Cal State Bernardino on Thursday with 26 kills, a .480 hitting percentage, 15 digs and two blocks.

Mitchell led Saint Martin’s 46 kills as the Saints started the season 4-0 for the first time in their GNAC history. She finished with double-doubles in three of her four matches, topped by a 10-kill, 22-dig effort in Thursday’s five-set win over Academy of Art that also included a pair of service aces.

Wheelhouse was a force for Central Washington with 27 kills, a .333 hitting percentage, seven aces and 20 blocks in 14 sets. She saved per best effort for last, finishing with seven kills, two aces and seven blocks in the Wildcats’ four-set win on Saturday at UC San Diego.

Joining the eight GNAC selections to the team were Rachel Flynn of Concordia-Irvine, Blaire Ehrlich of Stanislaus State, Marley Strand-Nicolaisen pf Hawaii-Hilo and Maddy Underwood of Cal State Monterey Bay.

The D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase featured every program from the GNAC, the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and the PacWest Conference. Hosted this year by the CCAA, the tournament will be hosted by the GNAC in 2017.