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Nov. 18, 2012

2012 NCAA II Bracket

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University volleyball team earned the No.4 seed at the West Regional of the 2012 NCAA Division II National Tournament, which takes place Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 1 at host and No.1 seed Brigham Young Hawaii. That announcement came Sunday on the NCAA Selection Show.

The Vikings, 23-3, face No.5 seed Sonoma State (22-8) in an opening-round match Thursday (5 p.m. HT), Nov. 29. The winner advances to the second round against either BYU-Hawaii (21-3) or No.8 seed UC San Diego (20-10).

In the two other first-round matches, No.2 seed Grand Canyon (23-5) faces No.7 seed San Francisco State (21-8) and No.6 seed Central Washington plays No.3 seed and Cal State San Bernardino, which has won the regional in each of the last four seasons.

It is the seventh trip to the NCAA nationals for WWU during the 13-year tenure of head coach Diane Flick (271-72), the GNAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time. The Vikings earned an automatic regional berth by winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship with a 16-2 record.

"It's not too bad to be able to go to Hawaii," said Flick. "We're looking forward to playing. It's been something we're been working toward all year long."

The Vikings, who reached the national championship match in 2007, also made regional appearances in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2010.

The Vikings, ranked No.15 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association/NCAA II Top 25 Poll, have swept 16 matches this fall with seven straight three-set wins during one stretch

WWU is riding a six-match victory string heading into the regional. Prior to that, the Vikings had winning streaks of four, six and seven matches.

The Vikings met Sonoma State earlier this season, winning in four sets at its Seawolf Invitational on Sept. 8.

"They're a good team and a fun team to play because they are very athletic," Flick said. "We look forward to playing that style of team and we look forward to that match-up right off the bat."

WWU is led by senior outside hitter Marlayna Geary (Tacoma/Bellarmine), named the GNAC's Player of the Year. She has had a league-leading 17 double-doubles in kills and digs and ranks second among school career leaders in kills with 1,328. The school record is 1,379 held by Meghan Evoy (2001-04).

Geary ranks 14th nationally among Division II statistical leaders in kills (4.16, 370) and 15th in points (4.76 per set, 424.0). She leads the GNAC in each category, and is fourth in service aces (33, 0.37), seventh in attack percentage (.290) and 12th in digs (3.10, 276).

Two Vikings are ranked fifth nationally,senior setter Laurie Yearout in assists (11.92, 1061) and sophomore libero Samantha Hutchinson (University Place/Curtis) in digs (6.35, 565). Yearout is fourth among WWU career leaders with 3,048 assists.

Sophomore middle blocker Kayla Erickson (Gig Harbor/Peninsula) is second among GNAC leaders in blocks (1.18, 103.0), third in kill percentage (.352), seventh in points (3.84, 334.5) and eighth in kills (3.16, 275). Erickson had a career-high 19 kills in a sweep at Seattle Pacific last Thursday.

Hutchinson was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and was one of four Vikings named First-team all-star. Geary and Yourout were both unanimous choices and Erickson rounded out the quartet,

Redshirt freshman Jennica McPherson (Seattle/Kennedy) is second in the GNAC in aces (0.42, 36), and junior middle blocker Emily Boerger (Marysville/Marysville-Pilchuck), who received GNAC all-star honorable mention, is ninth in kill percentage (.282) and 14th in blocks (0.81, 72.0).

WWU ranks 11th among the top 10 nationally and leads the GNAC in hitting percentage (.263). The Vikings are 23rd in the country in kills per set (13.78). They lead the league in those two categories as well as assists (13.15, 14th nationally) and digs (17.36).

WWU's 20-win season is the eighth under Flick.

NOTES: The Vikings were the preseason favorite in the GNAC Coaches' Poll ... Geary has twice been named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week this season. Hutchinson is a two-time Defensive POW and Erickson has earned Offensive and Defensive POW accolades, and Yearout was an Offensive POW one time ... WWU opened the season by being the only team to go undefeated at the Western Oregon Invitational, winning all four of its matches. The following week, the Vikings tied for the title at the Sonoma State Seawolf Spike Invitational, winning three of four matches. That performance earned them GNAC Team of the Week honors ... Geary was the MVP in both tournaments. Yearout earned all-tourney honors in both, and Hutchinson was all-tourney in the WOU Invitational ... WWU's highest national rating this season is No.12 ... The Vikings three losses have all been on the road, 3-2 to No. 25 UC-San Diego, 3-1 to Central Washington, and 3-0 to Western Oregon ... WWU has a 14-match home court winning streak and is 27-1 at Carver Gym since late in the 2009 campaign. The Vikings have a winning percentage of .905 (114-12) at home since going to a SportCourt surface in 2000 and are 229-78 (74.6 percent) overall.

2012 NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTIONS

INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Committee has selected the 64 teams that will be participating in the 2012 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. Eight teams were selected from each of the following eight regions: Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West. Eight eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites. Regional competition will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches and will not include a third-place match. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the finals, December 6-8. Competition at the finals site will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches. The finals site will be held at the campus of University of West Florida at UWF Field House.

Atlantic Region
Hosted by Wheeling Jesuit University, Wheeling, West Virginia - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Wheeling Jesuit (35-2) vs. No. 8 Fayetteville State (28-5)
No. 2 Gannon (28-5) vs. No. 7 Mercyhurst (25-10)
No. 3 California (Pennsylvania) (28-7) vs. No. 6 Shippensburg (27-11)
No. 4 Clarion (23-11) vs. No. 5 Lock Haven (26-10)
Central Region
Hosted by Concordia University, St. Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul (27-4) vs. No. 8 Wayne State (Nebraska) (22-9)
No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State (29-2) vs. No. 7 Truman (27-6)
No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney (33-2) vs. No. 6 Washburn (31-3)
No. 4 Central Missouri (26-6) vs. No. 5 Minnesota Dultuh (28-4)

East Region
Hosted by University of New Haven, West Haven, Connecticut - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 New Haven (27-1) vs. No. 8 Dominican (New York) (23-7)
No. 2 Bridgeport (25-4) vs. No. 7 Dowling (20-14)
No. 3 Adelphi (24-11) vs. No. 6 LIU Post (23-14)
No. 4 New York Institute of Technology (21-9) vs. No. 5 Franklin Pierce (19-14)
Midwest Region
Hosted by University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Indianapolis (27-7) vs. No. 8 Rockhurst (28-6)
No. 2 Northwood (Michigan) (26-6) vs. No. 7 Ashland (23-8)
No. 3 Grand Valley State (25-7) vs. No. 6 Hillsdale (15-15)
No. 4 Lewis (26-10) vs. No. 5 Ferris State (23-7)
South Region
Hosted by University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Tampa (27-3) vs. No. 8 Clark Atlanta (23-17)
No. 2 West Florida (26-7) vs. No. 7 Chrisitan Brothers (20-12)
No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic (33-3) vs. No. 6 Rollins (18-14)
No. 4 Eckerd (21-9) vs. No. 5 Florida Southern (21-11)
South Central Region
Hosted by Regis University (Colorado), Denver, Colorado - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Regis (Colorado) (25-8) vs. No. 8 Metro State (18-10)
No. 2 West Texas A&M (30-4) vs. No. 7 Arkansas-Fort Smith (28-2)
No. 3 Colorado School of Mines (25-6) vs. No. 6 Colorado Christian (23-9)
No. 4 Angelo State (27-5) vs. No. 5 Adams State (24-5)
Southeast Region
Hosted by Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Georgia - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Armstrong (32-5) vs. No. 8 Belmont Abbey (26-4)
No. 2 Wingate (29-2) vs. No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne (19-11)
No. 3 Flagler (22-10) vs. No. 6 Newberry (18-14)
No. 4 Tusculum (22-7) vs. No. 5 Lincoln Memorial (21-13)
West Region
Hosted by Brigham Young University, Hawaii, Laie, Hawaii - November 29-Decemeber 1
No. 1 Brigham Young-Hawaii (21-3) vs. No. 8 UC San Diego (20-10)
No. 2 Grand Canyon (23-5) vs. No. 7 San Francisco State (21-8)
No. 3 Cal State San Bernardino (22-8) vs. No. 6 Central Washington (21-7)
No. 4 Western Washington (23-3) vs. No. 5 Sonoma State (22-8)

Great Northwest Athletic Conference

2012 Volleyball Week #12 (Nov. 20, 2012)

Volleyball: Western Washington, Central Washington Open NCAA Regional Thursday

PORTLAND, Ore. - Western Washington and Central Washington earned the No. 4 and No. 6 seeds and will travel to Hawaii this week to compete in the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament. Top-seed BYU-Hawaii will host the tournament. The Vikings, who earned the GNAC's automatic berth in the tournament, will face fifth-seed Sonoma State at 5 p.m. (Hawaii time) Thursday. The Wildcats will open the tournament at noon against defending champion and No. 3 seed Cal State San Bernardino.

The WWU/Sonoma winner will face the winner of a match between UC San Diego and BYU-Hawaii in the semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m. The CWU/CSUSB winner will advance to play either No. 2 seed Grand Canyon or No. 7 seed San Francisco State in the semis.

The Vikings are in the regional for the seventh time during the 13-year tenure of WWU head coach Diane Flick (272-72) and have a combined NCAA playoff record of 5-5.

They made regional appearances in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2010, losing in the national championship game in 2007 when they became the only team in GNAC history to win the regional title.

Central Washington qualified for the regional for the fourth time and has an all-time regional record of 1-3. They lost in the opening round in 2004 and 2006 and reached the semifinals - as the No. 7 seed - in 2005.

Western Washington is led by GNAC Player of the Year Marlayna Geary. The senior outside hitter leads the conference in kills (4.16) and points (4.76). Nationally she ranks 14th and 15th, respectively, in the two categories.

GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Samantha Hutchinson, setter Laurie Yearout and middle blocker Kayla Erickson have also been key players for the Vikings. All three joined Geary on the first team all-conference team announced Monday.

Hutchinson is the conference leader and ranks fifth nationally in digs (6.35). Yearout leads the conference and ranks fifth nationally in assists (11.92). Erickson finished the regular-season ranked second in the GNAC in blocks (1.18) and third in hitting percentage (.352).

The top players this fall for 17th-year Central Washington head coach Mario Andaya (266-198) have been outside hitter Marcy Hjellum and middle blocker Erin Smith. Hjellum ranks third in the conference in kills (3.79), while Smith ranks second in attack percentage (.360) and seventh in blocks (0.94).

Both players earned first team honors on the GNAC all-conference team.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: Western Washington is 2-2 this fall against other West Region playoff qualifiers, splitting two matches with CWU (losing 3-1 at Ellensburg and winning 3-0 at Bellingham), defeating fifth-seed Sonoma State 3-1 and losing to eighth-seed UC San Diego 3-2 ... Central Washington is 2-3. In addition to dividing matches with the Vikings, the Wildcats beat UCSD 3-1 and also lost to both Sonoma State 3-1 and second-seed Grand Canyon 3-2.

	                Conf.		All
	                W	L	W	L	H	A	N
Western Washington      16	2	23	3	9-0	8-2	6-1
Western Oregon          14	4	21	6	12-3	9-3	0-0
Central Washington      14	4	21	7	8-2	8-4	5-1
Alaska Anchorage        11	7	16	10	10-3	5-5	1-2
Seattle Pacific         11	7	14	13	5-4	7-6	2-3
Northwest Nazarene       8	10	15	14	7-3	5-8	3-3
MSU Billings             8	10	11	15	5-4	3-9	3-2
Alaska Fairbanks         4	14	6	18	5-7	1-11	0-0
Saint Martin's           3	15	6	18	2-7	4-11	0-0
Simon Fraser             1	17	4	22	2-10	1-10	1-2

LAST WEEK: Tuesday - Douglas 3 at Simon Fraser 2 (18-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13). Thursday - Alaska Anchorage 1 at Northwest Nazarene 3 (20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23); Alaska Fairbanks 0 at Central Washington 3 (25-13, 26-24, 25-17); Simon Fraser 0 at MSU Billings 3 (25-16, 25-12, 25-20); Saint Martin's 0 at Western Oregon 3 (25-17, 25-17, 25-9); Western Washington 3 at Seattle Pacific 1 (25-23, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18). Saturday - Alaska Anchorage 0 at Central Washington 3 (25-13, 25-21, 25-16); Alaska Fairbanks 1 at Northwest Nazarene 3 (25-19, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18); Western Washington 3 at MSU Billings 1 (25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-20); Western Oregon 3 at Saint Martin's 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-14); Simon Fraser 0 at Seattle Pacific 3 (31-29, 25-18, 25-22). (End-of-regular season).

NCAA WEST REGIONAL (Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at Laie, HI): Thursday - #3 CSU San Bernardino (22-8) vs. #6 Central Washington (21-7), noon; #2 Grand Canyon (23-5) vs. #7 San Francisco State (21-8), 2:30 p.m.; #4 Western Washington (23-3) vs. #5 Sonoma State (22-8), 5 p.m.; #1 BYU-Hawaii (21-3) vs. #8 UC San Diego (20-10), 7:30 p.m. Friday - Semifinals at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday - Championship at 7 p.m.. (Note: Winner advances to the national tournament Dec. 6-8).

POLLS: AVCA (Final Regular-Season) - 15. Western Washington; 26. Central Washington. NCAA West Regional (Final) - 1. BYU-Hawaii; 2. Grand Canyon; 3. Cal State San Bernardino; 4. Western Washington; 5. UC San Diego; 6. Sonoma State; 7. San Francisco State; 8. Central Washington; 9. Western Oregon; 10. Chico State. Note: Final poll taken prior to final weekend and doesn't necessarily reflect playoff seedings.

NCAA NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Nov. 18): Team (Top 30): Assists - 14. Western Washington 13.15. Blocks - 11. Western Oregon 2.48. Hitting PCT. - 11. Western Washington .263; 24. Western Oregon .247. Kills - 23. Western Washington 13.78. Individuals (Top 30): Assists - 5. Laurie Yearout, WWU, 11.92; 21. Shelby Swanson, SPU, 10.83. Blocks - 12. Becky Blees, WOU, 1.33; 29. Kayla Erickson, WWU, 1.18. Digs - 5. Samantha Hutchinson, WWU, 6.35; 9. Erin Compton, MSUB, 6.01. Hitting PCT. - 2. Krissi Kemper, WOU, .425; 23. Erin Smith, CWU, .360. Kills - 14. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.16; 21. Cailin Fellows, SPU, 3.97. Points - 15. Marlayna Geary, WWU, 4.76.

ALL-TOURNAMENT: Western Oregon (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) - Marlayna Geary, WWU (MVP); Laurie Yearout, WWU; Krissi Kemper, WOU. Grand Canyon (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) - Erin Smith, CWU. Alaska Fairbanks (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) - Katlyn Mataya, UAF; Sam Harthun, UAF. Honolulu Invitational (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) - Cailin Fellows, SPU; Monica Grimsrud, MSUB. Sonoma State (Sept. 7-8) - Marlayna Geary, WWU (MVP); Samantha Hutchinson, WWU; Laurie Yearout, WWU. Alaska Anchorage (Sept. 7-8) - Kimya Jafroudi, UAA (MVP); Katelynn Zanders, UAA, Julia Mackey, UAA; Sarah Johnson, UAA. CSU Pueblo (Sept. 7-8) - Monica Grimsrud, MSUB; Erin Compton, MSUB. Notre Dame de Namur/CSU East Bay (Sept. 7-8) - Becky Flores, NNU.

GNAC RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Offense - Marcy Hjellum, Central Washington (OH, 5-11, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Kamiakin) had 28 kills and 20 digs to earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors. She led the Wildcats to a sweep of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage as CWU nailed down a post-season playoff berth. Defense - Heather Allen, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 5-10, Sr., Boise, ID) had 16 blocks including 10 (the second highest single-match total this fall in the GNAC) in Saturday's 3-1 win against Alaska Fairbanks. Allen, the Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week, also had 13 kills and hit for a .333 percentage (13-2-33). Honorable Mention - Kayla Erickson, Western Washington; Samantha Ward, Western Oregon; Becky Blees, Western Oregon.

VIKINGS, WILDCATS QUALIFY FOR REGIONAL: Western Washington and Central Washington earned the No. 4 and No. 6 seeds and will travel to Hawaii this week to compete in the NCAA Division II West Regional tournament. Top-seed BYU-Hawaii will host the tournament ... The Vikings, who earned the GNAC's automatic berth in the tournament, will face fifth-seed Sonoma State at 5 p.m. (Hawaii time). The Wildcats will open the tournament at noon against defending champion and No. 3 seed Cal State San Bernardino ... The WWU/Sonoma winner will face the winner of a match between UC San Diego and BYU-Hawaii Friday at 7:30 p.m. The CWU/CSUSB winner will advance to play either No. 2 seed Grand Canyon or No. 7 seed San Francisco State.

SEVENTH TRIP FOR WESTERN WASHINGTON: The Vikings are in the regional for the seventh time during the 13-year tenure of WWU head coach Diane Flick and have a combined record of 5-5. They made regional appearances in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2010, losing in the national championship game in 2007 when they became the only team in GNAC history to win the regional title ... Central Washington qualified for the regional for the fourth time and has an all-time regional record of 1-3. They lost in the opening round in 2004 and 2006 and reached the semifinals - as the No. 7 seed - in 2005.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: Western Washington is 2-2 this fall against playoff qualifiers, splitting two matches with CWU (losing 3-1 at Ellensburg and winning 3-0 at Bellingham), defeating fifth-seed Sonoma State 3-1 and losing to eighth-seed UC San Diego 3-2 ... Central Washington is 2-3. In addition to dividing matches with the Vikings, the Wildcats beat UCSD 3-1 and also lost to both Sonoma State 3-1 and second-seed Grand Canyon 3-2.

TEAM NOTES

Alaska Anchorage: Nikki Viotto led the Seawolves with 20 kills and Julia Mackey had 19 in a pair of road losses. UAA was outhit in their contests at Nampa and Ellensburg .263 to .173.

Alaska Fairbanks: Megan Morrison and Sam Harthun each contributed 22 kills and Morrison had seven blocks as the Nanooks closed their season with a pair of defeats.

Central Washington: In addition to Hjellum (See Player of the Week), the Wildcats were led by Rachel Hanses with 21 kills in its two 3-0 conquests of UAF and UAA. CWU outhit the Nanooks and Seawolves .273 to .102 and also had a 12-2 advantage in aces.

MSU Billings: Monica Grimsrud had 30 kills as the Yellowjackets split two matches. MSUB also got 18 kills and a team-high five blocks from Jody Lutz. Erin Compton averaged 7.43 digs per set contributing to a .119 hitting percentage by the `Jackets' opponents.

Northwest Nazarene: Becky Flores had 23 kills and also contributed 11 blocks in the Crusaders' 3-1 wins over Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. Helped along by Heather Allen's 16 blocks, NNU held the Seawolves and Nanooks to a .115 hitting percentage while swinging nearly 100 points higher at a .212 pace.

Saint Martin's: Kristyn Ross led the Saints with 13 kills and Shea-Linn White had 11 as the Saints finished their season dropping a pair of matches to Western Oregon. Katy Ferguson had eight kills and a team-high four blocks.

Seattle Pacific: Cailin Fellows had 26 kills as the Falcons closed their season with a winning record (14-13) splitting a pair of contests. The Falcons also got 23 kills from Madi Cavell and 21 from Jessica Miller. Shelby Swanson had 86 assists ending her career ranked fifth in GNAC history with 3,742. SPU also got a team-high 10 blocks from Jackie Arnold.

Simon Fraser: Jessica Young earned 19 kills and also had 20 digs in road losses at MSU Billings and Seattle Pacific. The Clan also got 15 kills from Keirsten Mend and 14 from Madeline Hait.

Western Oregon: Samantha Ward had 21 kills and seven blocks and Danielle Reese and Krissi Kemper had 17 and 16 kills, respectively, in wins over Saint Martin's. Becky Blees had 12 blocks, finishing her junior season ranked first in GNAC history in blocking assists per set (1.07) and fifth in total blocks (1.12).

Western Washington: Kayla Erickson had team-highs of 29 kills and 11 blocks as the Vikings clinched the GNAC title with 3-1 road wins at Seattle Pacific and MSU Billings. Erickson also had a team-best .328 percentage (29-7-67) in the two victories. Marlayna Geary had 25 kills increasing her career total to 1,328. That ranks seventh in GNAC history.

GNAC 47-36 IN NON-CONFERENCE: GNAC teams have a winning record during the non-conference portion of its schedule posting a 47-36 record. The GNAC had a winning record (13-12) against the CCAA, but ended up just 9-15 against the Pac West ... Western Washington led the way with a 7-1 record

GNAC (13) vs. CCAA (12): Northwest Nazarene 4-0, Western Oregon 1-0, Western Washington 4-1, Central Washington 3-2, Seattle Pacific 1-5, MSU Billings 0-1, Alaska Fairbanks 0-1, Alaska Anchorage 0-2.

GNAC (9) vs. PacWest (15): Alaska Anchorage 2-0, Western Oregon 2-1, Seattle Pacific 2-1, Northwest Nazarene 2-3, Alaska Fairbanks 1-3, Central Washington 0-1, MSU Billings 0-3, Saint Martin's 0-3.

PREVIOUS RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2: Offense - Marlayna Geary, Western Washington (OH, 5-10, Sr., Tacoma, WA - Bellarmine Prep) had 59 kills and hit for a .356 percentage in leading the Vikings to four victories in the Western Oregon Invitational. Geary became the 29th player in GNAC history to record 1,000 career kills, increasing her career total to 1,017. She also had 50 digs, five service aces and three blocks and was named the Most Valuable Player. Defense - Erin Smith, Central Washington (MB, 5-10, Jr., Selah, WA) had a team-high 13 blocks and also contributed 51 kills as the Wildcats won three of four matches. Smith committed just six errors in 90 swings.

Week of Sept. 3-9: Offense - Marlayna Geary, Western Washington (OH, 5-10, Sr., Tacoma, WA - Bellarmine Prep) had a tourney-best 76 kills and a .314 attack percentage and also had 40 digs and a trio of double-doubles in leading the Vikings to a 3-1 record and a share of the tournament title in the Sonoma State Invitational at Rohnert Park. She also had nine blocks in earning MVP honors for the second week in a row. WWU tied for the tournament title. After losing to No. 25 UC San Diego, the Vikings handed Chico State its first loss of the season and then beat No. 23 Sonoma State. Defense - Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, 5-8, So., University Place, WA - Curtis) had 99 digs, an average of 6.19 per set to earn all-tournament honors as the Vikings outhit their four CCAA opponents by 40 points (.286 to .246).

Week of Sept. 10-16: Offense - Sarah Johnson, Alaska Anchorage (OH, 6-1, Fr., Anchorage, AK - South) had 34 kills and hit for a .308 percentage as the Seawolves ran their win streak to six with 3-2 home wins over Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene. She had double-doubles in both victories, including career-highs of 18 kills and 17 digs in Saturday's win over NNU. She leads UAA with four double-doubles on the season. Defense - Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, 5-8, So., University Place, WA - Curtis) had 35 digs as the Vikings held their opponents to a .098 hitting percentage in sweeps of Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific. Hutchinson, who was selected the Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row, also had three aces as WWU had a 28-11 point advantage from the service line, including a 18-2 edge in aces.

Week of Sept. 17-23: Offense - Emmy Dolan, Central Washington (OH, 5-11, Jr., Castle Rock, WA) had 23 kills and hit for a .450 percentage leading the Wildcats to wins over Simon Fraser and Western Washington. Dolan had 16 kills and hit for a .481 percentage as the Wildcats stopped archrival Western Washington in four sets for the second time in a row at Nicholson Pavilion. CWU also beat the Vikings at home in four sets during the final week of the 2011 season. Defense - Becky Blees, Western Oregon (MB, 5-10, Jr., Portland, OR - Madison) contributed to nine of the Wolves' 15 blocks as WOU earned sweeps of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks in limiting their opponents to a .080 attack percentage. Blees also had a .412 hitting percentage (8-1-17) in the two wins.

Week of Sept. 24-30: Offense - Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, So., Gig Harbor, WA) had 24 kills in two matches, including the match-winner as the Vikings handed Western Oregon its first conference loss. Erickson, who hit for a .388 percentage, also had five blocks. She had 11 kills and a team-high three blocks against the Wolves. Defense - Marcy Hjellum, Central Washington (OH, 5-11, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Kamiakin) led Central Washington offensively with 39 kills and defensively with 36 digs as the Wildcats ran their win streak to five with road victories at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Hjellum also hit for a team high .270 percentage, 94 points better than CWU's team percentage of .176 in the two matches.

Week of Oct. 1-7: Offense - Megan Morrison, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 5-11, Fr., Spring Hill, FL - Springstead) tallied 20 kills and hit for a .269 percentage as the Nanooks split two matches to end a 10-match losing streak. Entering this week's matches, Morrison, who also had nine blocks, only had 10 kills on the year and her week's hitting percentage was nearly 300 points better than her season average. She also doubled her season's blocks total as well. In Saturday's win against Simon Fraser, Morrison had 15 kills, seven blocks and a .353 hitting percentage. Defense - Shelby Swanson, Seattle Pacific (S, 5-9, Sr., Kennewick, WA) had 36 assists and 18 digs earning her third consecutive double-double as Seattle Pacific swept Western Oregon on the Wolves' court. She also recorded 31 assists in Saturday's three-set victory at Saint Martin's as the Falcons posted back-to-back sweeps for the first time this season. Swanson, who is averaging 10.33 assists per set this season, now has 3,264 career assists, which ranks eighth in GNAC history. She also has seven double-doubles this season and 24 in her career.

Week of Oct. 8-14: Offense - Catie Fry, Central Washington (S, 6-0, Fr., Tacoma, WA - Mt. Si) averaged 11.6 assists leading the Wildcats to a pair of 3-0 win against Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. Fry also had a team-high five service aces, 13 digs and four blocks as the Wildcats ran their win streak to nine matches finishing the first half of the conference season in a tie for first-place with Western Washington. Defense - Kimya Jafroudi, Alaska Anchorage (S, 5-7, Sr., Huntington Beach, CA) led the Seawolves both offensively and defensively to a pair of road wins at Seattle Pacific and Montana State Billings. Jafroudi had 22 digs and four blocks on defense. Offensively, she earned 82 assists and also had three service aces.

Week of Oct. 15-21: Offense - Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 6-0, Fr., Oregon City, OR) and Samantha Ward, Western Oregon (OH, 6-1, Sr., Salem, OR - West Salem)... Harthun had 36 kills, three service aces and 18 digs and hit for a .413 percentage (36-5-75) as the Nanooks split two matches. In a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin's she finished with a match-best 18 kills hitting a career-high .654 (18-1-26). Her hitting percentage was only .079 off the GNAC record (min. 18 kills). She also accrued two service aces to help the Nanooks to their first straight-set win since Oct. 9, 2010 when it swept Central Washington ... Ward produced a team-high 34 kills and hitting for a .413 percentage in wins at UAF and Alaska Anchorage. She had 21 kills and 10 digs and hit .487 against the Nanooks, then led all players with 13 kills in the Wolves' sweep at Alaska Anchorage. Defense - Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, So., Gig Harbor, WA - Peninsula) had 10 blocks as the Vikings swept Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene extending their win streak to seven, all 3-0 sweeps. Erickson also had 15 kills and four digs. The Vikings held their two opponents to a combined hitting percentage of .078.

Week of Oct. 22-28: Offense - Danielle Reese, Western Oregon (OH, 5-9, Sr., Gig Harbor, WA) had 30 kills and 30 digs and hit for a .419 percentage as the Wolves swept nationally 12th-ranked Western Washington and Simon Fraser to extend their win streak to five matches. Reese had 17 kills as the Wolves outhit the Vikings .261 to .150, then added 13 more against the Clan. In the process, Reese became the 30th player in GNAC history to record 1,000 kills, increasing her career total 1,019. Defense - Erin Compton, Montana State Billings (L, 5-10, Jr., Billings, MT) and Becky Flores, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 5-9, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Riverview) ... Compton had 60 digs including 36 in MSUB's 3-2 upset of Central Washington. Her dig total against the Wildcats is the second highest in the GNAC this fall. She currently ranks second in the conference and eighth nationally averaging 5.92 per set ... Flores led the Crusaders both offensively and defensively in home wins against Seattle Pacific and MSU Billings. Defensively she had 11 blocks as the Crusaders dominated at the net outblocking their two opponents by a 3-1 margin (27-9) and holding them to a combined .173 hitting percentage. Offensively, she accounted for nearly a quarter of NNU's kills (29 of 119) converting on 42.9 percent of her opportunities. She also had a pair of service aces and five digs.

Week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4: Offense - Laurie Yearout, Western Washington (S, 5-9, Sr., Spokane, WA - Lewis & Clark) had 67 assists (11.17 per set) leading the Vikings to sweeps of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks. The Vikings hit for a .277 percentage in the two contests remaining unbeaten at home (8-0) and improving to 20-3 on the season. Yearout also converted on five of nine kill attempts and had four blocks and 11 digs. Defense - Becky Blees, Western Oregon (MB, 5-10, Jr., Portland, OR - Madison) had team-highs of six blocks and four service aces in road sweeps of Montana State Billings and Seattle Pacific to claim her second Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week award this fall.

Week of Nov. 5-11: Offense - Cailin Fellows, Seattle Pacific (OH, 5-10, Sr., Edmonds, WA) had 26 kills, 12 digs, four blocks and two service aces in road wins at Fairbanks and Anchorage to earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors. Fellows currently ranks second in the GNAC in kills per set, averaging 3.99. Her total of 363 ranks first in the conference. Defense - Devin Larson, Central Washington (S, 5-9, Sr., Mukilteo, WA - Kamiak) had 19 digs and three blocks and also contributed offensively, earning 75 assists as the Wildcats earned road victories defeating Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. That performance earned her Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week accolades. Honorable Mention - Katy Ferguson, Saint Martin's; Emmy Dolan, Central Washington; Katlyn Mataya, Alaska Fairbanks.

GNAC TEAMS OF THE WEEK: Aug. 27-Sept. 2 - Montana State Billings (Women's Soccer). Sept. 3-9 - Western Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 10-16 - Northwest Nazarene (Men's Soccer). Sept. 17-23 - Central Washington (Volleyball). Sept. 24-30 - Central Washington (Football). Oct. 1-7 - Western Oregon (Women's Soccer). Oct. 8-14 - Simon Fraser (Men's Soccer). Oct. 15-21 - Alaska Anchorage (Men's & Women's Cross Country). Oct. 22-28 - Western Oregon (Volleyball). Oct. 29-Nov. 4 - Western Washington (Women's Soccer). Nov. 5-11 - Simon Fraser (Women's Basketball).