Stanford’s Kathryn Plummer Garners Pac-12 Player Of The Year

Press Release courtesy of the Pac-12

The Pac-12 Conference announced its postseason volleyball awards today. STANFORD sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Plummer was voted the Pac-12 Volleyball Player of the Year, OREGON STATE’s Kylee McLaughlin was selected the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and OREGON STATE’s Mark Barnard was voted Pac-12 Volleyball Coach of the Year, Commissioner Larry Scott announced Tuesday. In addition, STANFORD sophomore Jenna Gray was tabbed the Pac-12 Setter of the Year and her teammate sophomore Morgan Hentz was selected the Pac-12 Libero of the Year.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR — KATHRYN PLUMMER, SO., OH, STANFORD (Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
A year after being voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and AVCA National Freshman of the Year, sophomore Kathryn Plummer was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. It is the 15th time a Cardinal has earned the Conference’s top honor and first since 2010. She is also just the second player in Conference history, and first in 27 years, to be named the league’s player of the year a season after being selected the freshman of the year. The last time that occurred was when former Cardinal Bev Oden was tabbed the freshman of the year in 1989 then followed up with a player-of-the-year outing in 1990.

An All-Pac-12 honoree for the second-straight year, Plummer has led the Cardinal to its 17th Pac-12 crown with a 19-1 league record and a No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. She leads the Conference with 4.70 kills per set and 5.43 points per set, ranking ninth and sixth, respectively, in the NCAA in each category. She was twice voted the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and selected the ESPNW National Player of the Week on Nov. 2.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR — KYLEE MCLAUGHLIN, S, OREGON STATE (Carrollton, Texas)
Kylee McLughlin is the second Beaver all-time, and second since teammate Mary-Kate Marshall was voted in 2014, to be picked the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. McLaughlin has helped OSU finish in a tie for seventh in the Pac-12 and post 11 league wins, tying a program record set in 1990. She has also guided the team to its third 20-win season and second in three years. McLaughlin is fourth in the Pac-12 in assists per set, doling out an average of 10.72. She was voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times this season.

SETTER OF THE YEAR — JENNA GRAY, SO, STANFORD (Shawnee, Kansas)
A Cardinal is tabbed the Pac-12 Setter of the Year for the fourth time in the seven-year history of the award. Sophomore Jenna Gray has directed the Stanford offense in its title-winning season, averaging 12.12 assists per set which is tops in the Pac-12 and third-best in the nation. With Gray leading the charge, the Cardinal offense is the most efficient in the Pac-12, boasting a .312 hitting percentage which also ranks seventh in the NCAA. Stanford also ranks 14th in the country with a 14.39 kills per set average and as a team, it ranks 16th in assists per set (13.50). Gray is the second sophomore to win the setter  honor after former Cardinal won the award in 2013 for the first of three-consecutive years.

LIBERO OF THE YEAR — MORGAN HENTZ, SO, STANFORD (Lakeside Park, Ky.)
Morgan Hentz is the second sophomore in the six-year history of the award to earn the honor, USC’s Natalie Hagglund who won the award from 2011-13. Hentz became the 18th player in Stanford history to record 1,000 wins on Nov. 16 after setting a program rookie record with 630 total digs last season. Her defensive ability has limited opposing offensive to just .177 hitting as opponents alter their attack because of her digging prowess. The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 23, she was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team. She has helped the Cardinal claim its 17th all-time Pac-12 crown and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

COACH OF THE YEAR — MARK BARNARD, OREGON STATE
Mark Barnard is the second coach at Oregon State to win the Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor in four years and just the third all-time. He follows former head coach Taras Liskevych, whom Barnard was a long time assistant under, getting the nod in 2014 and Guy Enriques was the co-coach of the year in 1990. Barnard has led the Beavers to a nine-match turnaround from last season, posting a 21-11 overall record, the program’s second 20-win campaign in four years and just the third since the Pac-12 began sponsoring volleyball in 1986. The Beavers are getting set to make their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance all-time after posting a team-record tying 11 league record, a six-match improvement from a season ago. In just his second season at the helm, Barnard has led the OSU to historic moments this season: it posted its first sweep through the state of Washington since 1990; It was also claimed its first win over Washington since 2001; it defeated both Arizona schools at home, the first time it had done that since 1996; Its five-match win streak from Oct. 13-27, was its longest in league play since 1990. Additionally, the desert schools were on the wrong side of another significant streak buster when the Beavs swept the Arizona schools for the complete season-sweep since 1990 also finished a season-sweep of the Washington schools for the first time in Pac-12 history and since 1984. This season, Barnard’s student-athletes have claimed the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honor three times, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week twice, and Pac-12 Freshman of the Week four times. It is the most the Beavers have been cited for weekly honors in a season in the history of the program.

2017 ALL-PAC-12 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM

** two-time selection; *** three-time selection; **** four-time selection

Honorable Mention: Naghede Abu, Colorado; Tami Alade, Stanford; Brynna DeLuzio, Colorado; Joslyn Hayes, Colorado; Crissy Jones, Washington; Tawnee Luafalemana, Utah; Mac May, UCLA; Kylee McLaughlin, Oregon State; Berkeley Oblad, Utah; Jolie Rasmussen, Oregon; Lauren Sanders, Washington; Tia Scambray, Washington; Frankie Shebby, Colorado; Sarah Sponcil, UCLA; Bailey Tanner, Washington; Carly Trueman, Utah; Lindsey Vander Weide, Oregon; Niki Whithers, USC.

2017 PAC-12 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM