Wednesday, November 29, 2023
by Evan O'Kelly, Assistant Commissioner For Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Four Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball players and Seattle Pacific head coach Jason Rhine earned all-region recognition for the 2023 season, as the AVCA and the D2CCA unveiled their all-region teams on Wednesday.

Seattle Pacific’s Hannah Hair and Sarah Brachvogel, as well as Central Washington’s Tia Andaya and Emma Daoud-Hebert represented the conference on the D2CCA all-region listings. Hair, Andaya and Daoud-Hebert were also on the AVCA all-region first-team, while Rhine was selected as the AVCA West Region Coach of the Year.

Hair, the GNAC Player of the Year and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, was a first-team all-region selection after piloting the Falcons to their first GNAC championship since the 2011 season. The fourth-year Falcon leads the NCAA on a GNAC-record pace of 1.66 blocks per set, while posting a hitting percentage of .317 which ranks fifth in the conference.

Andaya was another first-team all-region selection this season, after leading the Wildcats to a runner-up finish in the GNAC standings. Andaya ranked second in the GNAC in assists per set with 9.08, sixth in blocks per set with 1.08, and she averaged 1.40 kills per set.

Earning second-team all-region honors from the Falcons was Brachvogel, who emerged as one of the top offensive threats in the conference. The junior ranked second in the GNAC with 3.42 kills per set, and carries a streak of eight straight matches reaching double figures in kills into the postseason.

The second-leading blocker in Division II, Daoud-Hebert was a second-team all-region selection. The senior put up 1.45 blocks per set on her way to first-team all-conference recognition.

Rhine piloted the Falcons to their fourth GNAC crown and first in more than a decade, becoming the fourth coach in GNAC history to claim the honor of regional coach of the year.

Cal State LA’s Emily Elliott was named the D2CCA West Region Player of the Year, after leading the Golden Eagles to a record of 18-10 overall and the CCAA regular-season co-championship with a league record of 15-3.

Seattle Pacific (22-4, 16-2 GNAC) earned the No. 5 seed into the NCAA West Region Championships, and will square off against No. 4 seed Cal State LA on Thursday at noon in San Bernardino, Calif. Central Washington (20-6, 14-4), the No. 7 seed, will take on tournament host No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino (24-4, 15-3 CCAA) on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.