2016 Big West All-Conference

2016 Big West
Women’s Volleyball
2 Corporate Park, Suite 206, Irvine, CA 92606 • Phone: (949) 261-2525 • Fax: (949) 261-2528
Asst. AD of External Affairs: Mike Villamor • Director of Communications: Julie St.Cyr (VB Contact - jstcyr@bigwest.org)
All-Conference Honors - Monday, November 28, 2016
UH, UCSB Snag Conference Top Honors
Irvine, Calif. - The 2016 Big West Conference Champion, University of Hawai’i, collected two of the top three awards, while UC Santa Barbara nabbed
the final honor. Rainbow Wahine senior Nikki Taylor was named Big West Player of the Year and Big West Coach of the Year was awarded to Hawai’i’s
Dave Shoji. Grabbing the final award was UC Santa Barbara’s Lindsey Ruddins, who was named Big West Freshman of the Year.
The senior from Honolulu, Hawai’i, earned her second consecutive Big West Player of the Year award after pacing the Big West in three categories kills per set (4.59), service aces per set (.65) and points per set (5.9) - and guiding the Rainbow Wahine to their fourth Big West title in five years with a
near-perfect 15-1 league record. The last time a player nabbed two straight player of the year honors was in 2012 and 2013 when UH’s Emily Hartong
grabbed top honors. Taylor’s impressive service ace average ranks her second in the nation and places her in the Top 10 all-time in the Big West’s
record book, while also sitting in the top 15 in both kills and points per set. With the postseason still in front of her, she currently sits in 11th place in
Hawai’i’s career kill list with 1,354 total kills.
The 6-foot 4 opposite collected four Big West Player of the Week honors over the course of the season to bump her career total to 10, placing her second
all-time in Big West history. She also received an AVCA/Sports Imports National Player of the Week accolade the final week of the regular season after
lifting UH to victories over Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara as she averaged 5.29 kills, 2.57 digs, 1.14 service aces and 0.57 blocks per set. Taylor will
lead Hawai’i in its 35th NCAA Championship appearance this week as the Rainbow Wahine travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to take on USC in first round
action with a possible second round showdown with No. 2 seeded Minnesota or North Dakota.
Ruddins has made a name for herself in her first season donning the blue and gold. The outside hitter from Laguna Niguel, Calif., sits third in the Big
West with a 4.09 kills per set average and second in points per set with a 4.69 mark. She also sported a team-best .31 service ace average while posting eight double-doubles. She registered season-highs in both kills (27) and digs (15) in a 3-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton on November 11 for her
final double-double of 2016. Over the course of the season, Ruddins collected five Big West Freshman of the Week awards for her efforts on the court.
Ruddins is the first Gaucho to earn freshman of the year since Taylor Formico did so in 2012.
Leading the Rainbow Wahine to their fourth Big West title in five years, and eighth overall, with a near-perfect 15-1 mark earned Shoji his sixth Big West
Coach of the Year accolade. With the conference title, Hawai’i grabbed the conference’s automatic bid to the their 35th overall and 24th consecutive
NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Rainbow Wahine, who lead the conference and rank in the nation’s top 20 in three statistical categories, enter the postseason riding a 17-1 win streak. In the final week of the regular season, Shoji collected his 1,200th career victory. He became just
the second NCAA DI women’s volleyball coach to hit the 1,200 win milestone. Shoji, who is in his 42nd year at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine program,
now has a career record of 1,201-203-1. He is right behind Penn State’s Russ Rose who notched his 1,200th career win earlier this season. Rose currently
has a 1,208-195 career record. This is Shoji’s fifth Big West Coach of the Year honor.
Seven teams were represented on the first team with Hawai’i leading the way with five selections apiece. Long Beach State and Cal Poly nabbed three
nods each, UC Irvine collected two and CSUN, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara each picked up one selection.
Taylor also received her fourth All-Big West First Team honor to become just the 10th player in conference history to master that feat. Her teammate
Emily Maglio, along with Cal Poly’s Raeann Greisen, Taylor Gruenewald and Taylor Nelson, Long Beach State’s Nele Barber and UC Irvine’s Harlee
Kekauoha, each picked up their second first-team accolade.
The complete 2016 Big West All-Conference Team is on the following page.
-More-
2016 Big West Women’s Volleyball All-Conference Team
2016 BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nikki Taylor, Hawai’i
2016 BIG WEST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Lindsey Ruddins, UC Santa Barbara
2016 BIG WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
Dave Shoji, Hawai’i
FIRST TEAM
Player
Nele Barber^
Victoria Dennis
Aima Eichie
Raeann Greisen^
Taylor Gruenewald^
Norene Iosia
Savanah Kahakai
Harlee Kekauoha^
Emily Maglio^
Annie Mitchem
Ashley Murray
Taylor Nelson^
Aeryn Owens Lindsey Ruddins
Nikki Taylor$
YiZhi Xue
School
Long Beach State
UC Irvine
UC Davis
Cal Poly
Cal Poly
Hawai’i
Hawai’i
UC Irvine
Hawai’i
Hawai’i
Long Beach State
Cal Poly
CSUN
UC Santa Barbara
Hawai’i
Long Beach State
Ht. Yr.Pos.
6-1
Sr.
Outside Hitter
6-3
Jr.
Outside Hitter
6-1
Sr.
Middle Blocker
6-2
Jr.
Outside Hitter
6-1
Sr.
Middle Blocker
5-11
Fr.
Setter
5-8
Jr.
Libero
6-0
So.
Opposite
6-3
So.
Middle Blocker
6-3
Sr.
Middle Hitter
6-2
Jr.
Middle Blocker
6-0
Jr.
Setter
6-0
So.
Outside Hitter
6-2
Fr.
Outside Hitter
6-4
Sr.
Opposite
6-4
Fr.
Middle Blocker
Hometown
Berlin, Germany
La Verne, Calif.
Castle Rock, Colo.
San Diego, Calif.
Southlake, Texas
Torrance, Calif.
Kalihi, O’ahu
Long Beach, Calif.
Coquitlam, B.C.
Friendswood, Texas
Torrance, Calif.
Granite Bay, Calif.
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Honolulu, O’ahu
Nanjing, China
HONORABLE MENTION
Player
Shimen Fayad
Julie Haake
Chanel Hoffman
Maddie Hubbell
Lauren Matias
Katie Sato
Elizabeth Sheffield
Adlee Van Winden
Kendall Walbrecht
School
Cal State Fullerton
CSUN
UC Santa Barbara
UC Riverside
UC Davis
CSUN
UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly
UC Davis
Ht. Yr.Pos.
6-0
So.
Outside Hitter
6-0
Sr.
Outside Hitter
6-0
Jr.
Outside Hitter
5-3
Sr.
Libero
6-2
Fr.
Outside Hitter
5-6
Jr.
Libero
5-11
Sr.
Middle Blocker
6-1
So.
Outside Hitter
6-3
Sr.
Outside Hitter
Hometown
Victoria, B.C.
Keller, Texas
Corona, Calif.
Bakersfield, Calif.
Santa Cruz, Calif.
Calabasas, Calif.
Woodland Hills, Calif.
Napa, Calif.
La Canada, Calif.
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Player
Melissa Eaglin
Rowan Ennis
Hailey Harward
Norene Iosia
Lauren Matias
Lindsey Ruddins
Mickayla Sherman
YiZhi Xue
School
CSUN
UC Santa Barbara
Long Beach State
Hawai’i
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
UC Riverside
Long Beach State
Ht. Yr.Pos.
5-11
Fr.
Middle Blocker
6-1
Fr.
Middle Blocker
5-9
Fr.
Libero
5-11
Fr.
Setter
6-2
Fr.
Outside Hitter
6-2
Fr.
Outside Hitter
6-1
Fr.
Outside Hitter
6-4
Fr.
Middle Blocker
Hometown
Temecula, Calif.
Virginia Beach, Calif.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Torrance, Calif.
Santa Cruz, Calif.
Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Antioch, Calif.
Nanjing, China
^Two-time All-Big West First Team selection
%Three-time All-Big West First Team selection
$ Four-time All-Big West First Team selection

Download Report