Tuesday, November 22, 2016

PORTLAND, Ore. – The woman considered the heart and soul of the two-time conference champions leads the list of selections to the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball All-Conference Team.

Senior setter Morgan Hooe was selected by coaches as the Player of the Year, leading three Alaska Anchorage players selected for the conference’s five special awards. Chris Green was tabbed as the Coach of the Year while Diana Fa’amausili was selected as the Freshman of the Year.

Simon Fraser libero Alison McKay was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second consective year while Concordia setter Michele Brown was named the Newcomer of the Year, marking the second straight year that a Cavaliers’ player has won the honor.

Hooe was the unanimous choice of coaches for Player of the Year. The starting setter for the Seawolves averaged 10.57 assists per set during the regular season, but also proved a solid hitter with a team-best .396 hitting percentage. Hooe finished with double-doubles (digs and assists) in 13 matches, which included an effort of 53 assists and 16 digs against Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 10. Offensively, Hooe finished with seven kills in two matches and hit .357 against Central Washington on Nov. 12.

As the Freshman of the Year, Fa’amausili allowed the Seawolves to reload with another talented hitter and blocker. Fa’amausili finished the regular season 10th in the GNAC with a .258 hitting percentage and eighth in the league with an average of 1.06 blocks per set. A starter in 21 of the Seawolves’ 31 matches, Fa’amausili had her best effort of the regular season with 15 kills and eight blocks against Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 10.

Hooe and Fa’amausili were two of four Alaska Anchorage players to be named to the first team. Joining the duo is outside hitter Leah Swiss and middle blocker Erin Braun.

Green earned his third consecutive GNAC Coach of the Year award and the fourth of his nine-year career at Alaska Anchorage. Green has led the Seawolves to two straight GNAC championships and two straight No. 1 West Region rankings. This season, Alaska Anchorage ended the regular season with a 29-2 record, marking the second year in a row that the program has set a season record for wins.

McKay was elected as the Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year after she helped lead Simon Fraser to its first ever NCAA Division II championships appearance. McKay led the GNAC during the regular season and is fourth in Division II with an average og 6.60 digs per set. She finished with a season-high 39 digs at Concordia on Oct. 1 and she notched a double-double of 33 digs and 11 assists at Western Washington on Nov. 15.

Joining McKay from Simon Fraser on the first team is setter Tamara Nipp and middle blocker Tessa May.

Brown, who was an honorable mention to the all-conference team, finished third in the GNAC with an average of 11.08 assists per set. The transfer from Division I Idaho had a double-double in seven matches, led by a 52-assist, 20-dig performance at Seattle Pacific on Sept. 24.

Of the 15 players to make the all-conference first team, 13 will play in the upcoming NCAA Division II West Region Championships, Dec. 1-3 in Anchorage. Western Washington landed three players on the team including middle blocker Kayleigh Harper and outside hitters Abby Phelps and Arielle Turner. Representing Northwest Nazarene is middle blocker Madi Farrell and outside hitter Kendra Bodine while Central Washington is represented by middle blocker Sabrina Wheelhouse.

Rounding out the first team is Concordia opposite-side hitter Lindsey Dorsey and Montana State Billings’ outside hitter Ashlynn Ward.

This year’s GNAC All-Conference First Team includes eight unanimous selections as well 11 repeat selections. Eight players were repeat first team selections: Hooe, Harper, Farrell, McKay, Bodine, Dorsey, Phelps and Wheelhouse.