Courtesy: Big West Conference
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
TORREY VAN WINDEN, CAL POLY – Junior • OH • Napa, Calif. • UCLA
• Torrey Van Winden earned her third career Player of the Week award, leading Cal Poly to back-to-back wins over No. 9 UCLA.
• The 6-foot-3 outside hitter averaged 5.50 kills, 2.63 digs, 0.88 block and 0.38 aces per set as the 22nd-ranked Mustangs vanquished her former school in four sets both nights.
• Van Winden tallied 18 kills and 13 digs for her third double-double of the season in Cal Poly’s home opener Thursday. She added three block assists and two aces.
• She bettered that performance in the rematch, posting a season-high 26 kills on .362 hitting (26-5-58). Van Winden chipped in eight digs, four block assists and an ace in the 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23 victory.
• In the second match, Van Winden put the Mustangs up two sets to one with a monstrous third set in which she had 10 kills and no errors while hitting at a .562 clip.
Others nominated: Aeryn Owens (CSUN); Tyler Spriggs (Long Beach State); Emily Allen (UC Davis); Ali Koumelis (UC Irvine); Chelsea Doyle (UC Riverside); Lindsey Ruddins (UC Santa Barbara); Natasha Burns (Hawai‘i)
FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
AVALON DeNECOCHEA, CAL POLY –
S • San Diego, Calif. • University HS
• Avalon DeNecochea directed Cal Poly to two wins over No. 9 UCLA with a 12.63 assists per set average en route to her first career Freshman Player of the Week nod.
• In the consecutive four-set wins over the Bruins, the 6-foot-2 setter dished out 51 assists in the first match and 50 in the rematch to help the Mustangs defeat a top-10 team for the first time in over a decade.
• DeNecochea also provided three kills and an ace in each contest. She had 13 digs and six total blocks (one solo) over the eight sets.
• DeNecochea helped Cal Poly extend its overall winning streak to six straight, and tie the program record for consecutive home wins (13) that dates back to 2016.
Others nominated: Nicole Nevarez (CSUN); Kashauna Williams (Long Beach State); Nailah Jones (UC Riverside); Olivia Lovenberg (UC Santa Barbara)
https://twitter.com/BigWestWVB/status/1039241551048716288
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
REYN ‘TITA’ AKIU, HAWAI‘I
Senior • L/DS • Honolulu, O’ahu • Texas Tech
• Reyn Akiu collected her first career Defensive Player of the Week honor as the Hawai‘i libero averaged 5.38 digs per set to help Hawai‘i finish 2-1 at the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge.
• Akiu, a transfer from Texas Tech, accumulated 70 digs over the three matches as the Rainbow Wahine defeated Idaho and San Diego State in four sets, while falling to Portland in five sets.
• The 5-foot-3 libero collected a career-high 22 digs against Idaho, then upped her career-best to 26 scoops one night later versus Portland. She finished the tournament with 22 more digs against the Aztecs.
• Akiu also contributed seven assists and two aces on the week.
Congratulations to #HawaiiWVB libero Tita Akiu who earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting 70 digs in 3 matches! https://t.co/AE79QlP8l0
— Hawaii W. Volleyball (@HawaiiWVB) September 10, 2018
Others nominated: Katherine Brouker (Cal Poly); Kristey Markle (CSUN); Emma Kirst (Long Beach State); Malia Bolko (UC Davis); Haley DeSales (UC Irvine); Kaiulani Ahuna (UC Riverside); Emilia Petrachi (UC Santa Barbara)
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