IRVINE, Calif. – After finishing the 2017 regular season with an undefeated record, California Baptist earned five special awards, including Lauren Hackett being named PacWest Player of the Year to lead the selections to the All-PacWest volleyball team.
 
The Lancers also received PacWest Newcomer of the Year, which was awarded to Madison Witt. Teammate Sydney Kralj was named the Setter of the Year, while Sydney Marks is the Freshman of the Year. California Baptist head coach Branden Higa was selected by his peers as the PacWest Coach of the Year. Biola’s Tess Van Grouw was picked as the Libero of the Year after helping the Eagles to a second-place finish in their first year in the PacWest.
 
In her senior season, Hackett led the Lancers to its most successful regular season in conference history. The native of Covington, Washington, registered 348 kills, 239 digs, 53 blocks and 35 aces. Her 3.87 kills per set ranks second in the conference, while her 0.39 aces per set ranks fourth. After being named the Preseason Player of the Year, Hackett led the Lancers’ to the first 20-0 conference record in PacWest history.
 
In his sixth season at the helm of the CBU volleyball program, Higa directed the Lancers’ to one of the most dominant seasons in PacWest history. After beating No. 5 Winona State in the first tournament of the season, California Baptist traveled to Alaska Anchorage to play in the top pod of the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase to take on the top teams from the CCAA and GNAC. California Baptist cruised against the nationally-ranked competition, winning 12-consecutive sets. That led into the Lancers’ 20-0 conference season, which culminated in the AVCA No. 1 ranking in the nation and the right to host the NCAA West Regional as the top seed.
 
In just her second season as California Baptist’s starting setter, Kralj became the 16th player in PacWest history to accumulate 2,000 career assists. The senior blew away the rest of the league with 11.42 assists per set, which ranks ninth in the conference record books for a single season, improving to fourth on the career list. On Nov. 4, the Lancers survived a four-set test at Azusa Pacific in which Kralj tallied a season-high 51 assists, helping the Lancers record a .250 hitting percentage in the fourth set to win it, 26-24.
 
The Lancers went 20-9 last year, but a few key additions helped turn the Lancers into the top-ranked team in the nation. Witt was one of those additions, transferring from Arizona to earn PacWest Newcomer of the Year. The senior opposite hitter averaged 3.45 kills per set and had a .344 hitting percentage. The two-time PacWest Player of the Week wrapped up the regular season with 300 kills, 80 blocks and 16 aces to earn first-team All-PacWest recognition.
 
Marks was another key addition as the freshman middle blocker tallied 89 blocks on the season. The two-time PacWest Freshman of the Week also had a team-leading .354 hitting percentage. In the final week of the season, California Baptist made a trip to Hawaii, during which Marks posted a .818 hitting percentage against Hawai`i Hilo. The freshman was named to the All-PacWest Third Team.
 
Biola finished in a tie for second place in the PacWest standings in its first year in the league. As a team, Biola held its opponents to a .163 hitting percentage, which was largely due to the play of Van Grouw. The senior libero tallied 536 digs, which ranked second in the conference, averaging 4.58 digs per set. The Eagles went 15-5 in conference play, which included a sweep of Concordia and a split against Azusa Pacific. In the two wins over Concordia, Van Grouw registered 52 digs.
 
Azusa Pacific was represented on All-PacWest by first-team selection Julianne Miller. Coming off her freshman season in which she was named Freshman of the Year, the Cougars middle blocker led the conference in hitting percentage at .428. The three-time PacWest Player of the Week led Azusa Pacific to its first berth into the NCAA West Regional in program history.
 
Rachel Flynn represented Concordia on the All-PacWest First Team after helping the Eagles finish the season with 14 wins in their final 15 matches. The senior finished the season with 336 kills, 232 digs and 35 blocks. Concordia finished the 2017 season with an 18-9 record, going 14-6 in conference play.
 
Notre Dame de Namur’s Bianca Alvarez was named to the All-PacWest First Team after setting the conference record for single-season kills. The senior tallied 587 kills for 5.29 kills per set as she broke the conference’s career record for total kills. Alvarez finished the season ranked in the top two in the nation for kills for the second year in a row.
 

2017 PACWEST VOLLEYBALL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR	SETTER OF THE YEAR	LIBERO OF THE YEAR
Lauren Hackett California Baptist	Sydney Kralj California Baptist	Tess Van Grouw Biola
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR	FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR	COACH OF THE YEAR
Madison Witt California Baptist	Sydney Marks California Baptist	Branden Higa California Baptist

 

2017 ALL-PACWEST VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown/Previous School
FIRST TEAM
Bianca Alvarez **	Notre Dame de Namur	OH	Sr.	San Bruno, Calif./Burlingame
Rachel Flynn **	Concordia	OH	Sr.	Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills
Lauren Hackett ***	California Baptist	OH	Sr.	Covington, Wash./Kentwood
Julianne Miller *	Azusa Pacific	MB	So.	Camino, Calif./Rocklin
Madison Witt	California Baptist	OPP	Gr.	Glendale, Ariz./Arizona
Sydney Kralj *	California Baptist	S	Sr.	Castro Valley, Calif./Cal State L.A.
Tess Van Grouw	Biola	L	Sr.	Exeter, Calif./Central Valley Christian
SECOND TEAM
Kayla Chapman	Dixie State	MB	Jr.	Fullerton, Calif./Troy
Amber Rose *	Concordia	MB	Sr.	Cypress, Calif./Cypress
Cindy Tran	Concordia	OPP	So.	Irvine, Calif./Beckman
Sara Wagenveld	Azusa Pacific	MB	So.	Escondido, Calif./Calvin Christian
McKenna Witt	California Baptist	OH	Gr.	Glendale, Ariz./Arizona
Brinley Beresford	Biola	S	Jr.	Yorba Linda, Calif./Regis
Holley Persson	Point Loma	L	Fr.	Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta
THIRD TEAM
Perla Escobar	Hawai’i Pacific	OH	So.	Calexico, Calif./Calexico
Lauren Gammell	Dixie State	MB	So.	Spanish Fork, Utah/ Spanish Fork
Yagoda Jedrzecjak	California Baptist	MB	So.	Anaheim, Calif./Regis
Sydney Marks	California Baptist	MB	Fr.	Lodi, Calif./Saint Mary’s
Aimee Steinwand **	Dominican	OH	Sr.	Colorado Springs, Colo./Cheyenne Mont.
Emma Tecklenburg	Chaminade	OH	So.	Plano, Texas/Plano
Cara Keturakis *	Point Loma	S	So.	Surrey, B.C., Canada/Earl Marriott
Bailey Henington	Azusa Pacific	L	So.	Sonora, Calif./Sonora

HONORABLE MENTION: Sid Brandon (L-Dixie State), Malerie Crenshaw (MB-Fresno Pacific), Jaime Cymbaluk (MB-Point Loma), Jessica Diederich (S-Concordia), Kate Even (MB-Dominican), Julia Malinas (RS-Point Loma), Bailey Soolsma (OH-Academy of Art)
 
* - Indicates previous All-PacWest selection