The resurgent and red-hot UAA volleyball team on Monday collected some of the glory that goes with its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, as senior setter Calli Scott was named league player of the year and Chris Green nailed down coach of the year.
Scott, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the first UAA volleyball player to win in 17 years. Jen Szczerbinski took the award in 1992 when UAA was affiliated with the Pacific West Conference.
Scott led the league and ranked in the top 25 nationally with 10.79 assists per set.
Green, meanwhile, won UAA's first volleyball coach-of-the-year honor in 19 years. Judy Lee earned the Continental Divide Conference honor in 1990.
Green's team has notched school records for most conference victories (14) and consecutive victories (12) heading into this week's playoffs in California.
Nobody saw this coming. Green took a UAA team predicted to finish seventh in the nine-team league to a three-match margin for the league tittle.
Sophomore outside hitter Jackie Matthisen joined Scott as a first-team all-conference selection, while junior middle blocker Cortney Lundberg received second-team honors and senior libero Stacie Meisner was an honorable mention.
Matthisen, an East High graduate who transferred to UAA from conference rival Western Oregon, is the first UAA sophomore in 20 years to earn first-team all-league honors in volleyball. The 5-11 outside hitter ranks second in the league in both kills per set (4.06, top 20 nationally) and points per set (4.43), plus ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.254).
Lundberg, from Hardin, Mont., paces the GNAC with 1.13 blocks per set, and also ranks in the top 20 nationally. The 6-1 middle blocker ranks fourth in the league with a .325 hitting percentage. Lundberg's 11 blocks against Central Washington were a GNAC season high, while her .895 attack percentage against Saint Martin's was third-best in league history and a school record.
Meisner, from Gering, Neb., leads the Seawolves and ranks fifth in the league with both 4.58 digs per set and 0.37 aces per set. The 5-8 libero had a season-high 34 digs in a five-set win at Central Washington. Meisner was also an all-conference academic selection last week, along with Matthisen.
All awards were decided by a ballot of the GNAC's nine head coaches.
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