2011 GNAC Volleyball Players-of-the-Week
Week of Aug. 29-Sept. 4: Brooke Tolman, Montana State Billings (S, 5-7, Sr., Honeyville, UT) was named the Most Valuable Player as she led the Yellowjackets, who won just five matches all of last season, to a 4-0 record in the Oredigger Volleyball Class hosted by Colorado Mines. Tolman averaged 10.2 assists during MSUB's four victories, which included sweeps of Northwood (Mich.) and King (Tenn.). The ‘Jackets also beat RMAC pre-season favorite Colorado Mesa in five sets and host Colorado Mines 3-1. Tolman had a total of 152 assists, 18 digs, four aces and four blocks in the four contests.
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Week of Sept. 5-11: Danielle Reese, Western Oregon (OH, 5-9, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA) had 39 kills, including a career-high 23 against Alaska Anchorage, to lead the Wolves to a pair of 3-2 victories in Alaska. Reese also had 29 digs in the two matches in which WOU overcame 2-1 and 2-0 set deficits. "Dani Reese was amazing tonight," WOU coach Brad Saindon said after Thursday's win at UAA when the Wolves overcame four match points by the Seawolves to pull out the five-set victory. "That was an All-American performance from her."
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| Geary |
Swanson |
Week of Sept. 12-18: Marlayna Geary, Western Washington (OH, 5-10, Jr., Tacoma, WA – Bellarmine Prep) and Shelby Swanson, Seattle Pacific (S, 5-8, Jr., Kennewick, WA – Kamiakin). . .Both players had superb numbers in leading their respective teams to a pair of victories. Geary had 37 kills (4.62 per set) and a .313 hitting percentage (37-6-99) as the Vikings swept Saint Martin's and rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Western Oregon. In the latter match, Geary had 24 kills to equal a GNAC season high and also had a career-best 30 digs. “When we were sputtering, she was the light that we all followed to pull ourselves out of it,” said WWU coach Diane Flick. . . Swanson had a career-high 58 assists in Thursday's 3-1 win at Central Washington and then added 52 more Saturday in a 3-1 win at Northwest Nazarene. Altogether she factored into 119 ½ of SPU's 194 points – setting up 110 with assists and adding 9 ½ (5 kills, 1 ace, a solo block and five blocking assists) of her own. In eight sets, she averaged 13.75 assists, 2 ½ more than her league-leading average of 11.33.
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| Burton |
Week of Sept. 19-25: Robyn Burton, Alaska Anchorage (MB, 5-11, So., Eagle River, AK – Chugiak) hit for a .500 average in road wins at Simon Fraser and nationally 25 th -ranked Western Washington, snapping the Vikings' 13-match home win streak. Burton had 28 kills and just six errors in 44 swings. She also had 14 blocks and averaged 5.29 points per set in the two matches. In the Seawolves' 3-1 defeat of the Vikings, she had a double-double with 12 kills and 10 blocks becoming the first player in the GNAC this season to reach double figures in blocks. On the season she leads the conference in hitting percentage (.405) and ranks third in blocks (44 in 47 sets). She is attempting to become just the second player in conference history to hit .400 in a single season, joining LeAnne McGahuey of Central Washington who hit .418 during the 2004 season.
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Week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2: Kimya Jafroudi, Alaska Anchorage (S, 5-7, Jr., Huntington Beach, CA – Orange Coast) averaged 11.29 assists in seven sets leading the Seawolves to wins over 15th ranked Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Jafroudi also had 22 digs and four aces setting career highs of 15 and three against SPU (assists) and MSUB (aces), respectively. Jafroudi's sets helped UAA hit .199 against the Falcons who lead the GNAC with a .161 opponent hitting percentage.
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| Abbott |
Herold |
Week of Oct. 3-9: Haley Abbott, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 6-0, Sr., Kenmore, WA – Cedar Park Christian) and Anna Herold, Seattle Pacific (L, 5-8, Sr., Bothell, WA – Shorecrest). . .Abbott had 35 kills and 14 blocks as the Crusaders who have won five of their last six matches, defeated Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage. Abbott had an impressive .384 hitting percentage (35-7-73) in the two contests. The win over UAA snapped the Seawolves' seven-match win streak during which they had lost just two sets. . .Herold had 30 digs as she helped hold Western Washington to a .103 attack percentage in a 3-2 win Saturday. She also had a match-high three service aces in the contest. For the week she had 46 digs moving her into second place on the GNAC all-time career list with 2,016. She'll finish her career in the No. 2 slot as the all-time leader is Courtney Schneider of Western Washington who had 2,695 between 2004 and 2007.
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Week of Oct. 10-16: Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (S, 5-9, Fr., Ripon, CA – Ripon Christian) recorded a pair of triple-doubles, her second and third of the season, to lead the Crusaders to road wins at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Terpstra had 21 kills, 45 assists, 30 digs and seven blocks and hit for a .310 average in the two wins "Both (our) setters (Terpstra and Kaitlyn Tuholski) played well, however, we don't win either match without Michelle's aggressiveness at the net. She had multiple game-saving plays in each match."
Week of Oct. 17-23: Jackie Matthisen, Alaska Anchorage (OH, 5-11, Sr., Anchorage, AK – East Anchorage) had 30 kills in home wins against Western Washington and Simon Fraser increasing her career total to 1,021. Matthisen now ranks 27th in GNAC history in kills. This year she is second in the conference in both kills (4.07) and points (4.46). Matthisen hit .299 (30-7-77) and had 20 digs in the two contests.
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| Blees |
Wodrich |
Week of Oct. 24-30: Becky Blees, Western Oregon (MB, 5-10, So., Portland, OR – Madison) and Lindsey Wodrich, Seattle Pacific (OH, 5-9, Sr., Richland, Wash.) . .Blees had 18 kills and 19 blocks and helped the Wolves hold Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington to a combined .047 hitting percentage in a pair of road wins. Blees had seven blocks in WOU's 3-0 sweep of Northwest Nazarene and added 12 more, equaling the fourth highest single-match total in GNAC history, against Central Washington. . .Wodrich had 22 kills in Seattle Pacific's 3-1 home win Saturday against Alaska Anchorage. She also had 12 digs, four block assists and two service aces against the Seawolves, recording her 13th double-double of the year and the 32nd of her career. She hit a season-high .440 (12-1-25) in a sweep of Alaska Fairbanks on Thursday, and had 12 kills and tied a career high with five service aces in a four-set victory against Montana State Billings last Monday. For the week, she had 46 kills, 27 digs, six block assists and seven service aces as the Falcons opened up a 1 ½ match lead in the conference race.
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| Geary |
Burton |
Week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6: Marlayna Geary, Western Washington (OH, 5-10, Jr., Tacoma, WA – Bellarmine Prep) and Robyn Burton, Alaska Anchorage (MB, 5-11, So., Eagle River, AK – Chugiak). . .Geary, who increased her career kill total to 918, had 29 kills and 39 digs to lead the Vikings to wins over Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Eighteen of her kills and 24 of her digs came in Thursday's 3-2 win against nationally 24 th ranked Seattle Pacific. “Marlayna was strong for us in all areas, the front row and the back row especially in the fifth set Thursday against Seattle Pacific,” Viking coach Diane Flick said. . .Burton had 31 kills and seven blocks as the Seawolves gained control of the tie-breaker for the GNAC's automatic berth in the NCAA playoffs with wins over Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington. Burton posted a .482 percentage (31-4-56) in the two contests to raise her season average to a GNAC-leading .410. She was particularly impressive in UAA's sweep of NNU, swinging at a .619 rate (14-1-21). UAA's team percentage of .419 (46-7-93) in that match was the best in a conference contest this fall.
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| Offutt |
Reese |
Week of Nov. 7-13: Jordan Offutt, Central Washington (OH, 5-11, Jr., Leavenworth, WA – Cascade) and Danielle Reese, Western Oregon (OH, 5-9, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA) led their teams to two victories including one which cost their opponents a share of the GNAC title. . .Offutt had 30 kills and hit for a .296 percentage as the Wildcats beat Western Washington and Simon Fraser to finish at 9-9 in the GNAC, earning their 13 th consecutive .500 plus conference campaign. Offutt had 19 kills in CWU's win against the Vikings. . .Reese had 34 kills and 21 digs powering Western Oregon to wins over Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage. Reese hit for a .321 percentage in the two contests. . .The losses by WWU and UAA enabled Seattle Pacific to win the GNAC title outright. Its the fourth GNAC title for the Falcons, who also finished first in 2005, 2006 and 2010.
