Women's Volleyball

Biola Finishes Strong, McClellan and Komo Win Final Weekly Awards

Eagles top APU and CUI to earn Team of the Week, ART U star and Shark kill and dig their way to awards

Biola finishes the 2023 season very strong with a pair of wins, including a 3-1 victory in the Cornerstone Cup. ART U's Maya McClellan averaged 4.9 kills per set to win Player of the Week and Hawai`i Pacific's Kylie Komo had 31 digs in a season finale win over Hilo to gain Defender of the Week. 

2023 Results/Schedule
2023 Standings
2023 Statistics
2023 AVCA National Poll
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Academy of Art's Maya McClellan, OH-RS, Gr., 5-10, San Carlos, Calif.        
Academy of Art's Maya McClellan pounded out 49 total kills in a pair of five-set marathon matches--one a win over Domincan and the other a loss to Hawai`i Pacific. The grad senior had 27 of those kills against the Penguins, hitting at a .328 clip and she also added 13 digs. She had another double-double against the Sharks with 22 kills and 11 digs. A Second Team All-PacWest selection in 2022, McClellan averages 3.6 kills per set and 4.22 points, both totals second best in the PacWest.

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: Hawai`i Pacific's Kylie Komo, L, Gr., 5-5, San Diego, Calif.                        
Hawai`i Pacific's Kylie Komo posted a season-high 31 digs in the Sharks' final match of the season, a five-set rivalry win over Hawai`i Hilo on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the San Diego native had 22 digs in a five-set victory over Academy of Art, giving the grad senior 52 for the week while helping lead HPU to a pair of wins to wrap up the season. The grad transfer, who played four seasons at Portland State, finished the year averaging 3.73 digs per set, ranking sixth in the PacWest. 
 
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Biola Eagles                                                                                                                
The PacWest Team of the Week is Biola, who had two strong wins to wrap up the 2023 season and move into a tie for third place in the final conference standings. One of those wins was over rival Azusa Pacific at home on Saturday on Senior Night. One of those seniors Abby Brewster led the way with 16 kills and 11 digs, hitting at a .452 clip. Dominique Kirton added 17 kills, and Bri Bellfi had 25 digs as the Eagles rallied from a 1-0 deficit to get the season sweep of their Cornerstone Cup rivals. On Thursday, Biola went five sets in a thriller over Concordia, rallying back from a 2-1 hole to win 15-10 in the fifth. Kirton had 15 kills and Bellfi had another 25 digs while Gracie Guy did work at the net with two solo blocks and six assisted blocks.  

PACWEST TITLE GOES TO POINT LOMA: Point Loma had already clinched the PacWest automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament, but also claimed the league title outright on Thursday with a sweep of Azusa Pacific. It is the first PacWest title for the Sea Lions, who also reached 21 wins for the first time in their NCAA Division II era. Point Loma's 18-2 conference record was just one match better than second-place Chaminade's 17-3 mark. Biola and Azusa Pacific tied for third with 14-6 records.

CHAMINADE NO. 1 HEADING INTO TONIGHT'S SELECTION SHOW: For the second week in a row, Chaminade was No. 1 in the official NCAA West Region poll last Wednesday. With a sweep of Hawai`i Hilo in their only match last week, they would seem to have done nothing to jepordize that status heading into Monday night's NCAA Selection Show. CS San Bernardino has held the No. 2 spot for two weeks and they won the CCAA tournament this past weekend. No. 3 Cal Poly Pomona lost in the semi's of that tournament to CSUSB. Point Loma was at No. 4 and is hopeful that a regular-season ending loss to Concordia doesn't cause a drop in the seeding. You can watch the selection show at ncaa.com at 4:30 pm Pacific time.

PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Biola, Fresno Pacific, Chaminade, Westmont and Hawai`i Pacific all finished their 2023 seasons on a winning note...Westmont closed out its first PacWest season with a five-set win over Concordia, led by doubles from Phoebe Minch (19-11) and Jessie Terlizzi (17-14)...Anna Massari had 10 total blocks in Point Loma's sweep of Azusa Pacific, the highest three-set total in the PacWest this season...Torinna Hommes had a career-high 28 kills in the Sea Lion's loss to Concordia...Fresno Pacific finished the season on a three-match win streak under interim coach Shauna Felix...Hula Crisostomo had 19 digs and three aces in Chaminade's sweep of Hawai`i Hilo and setter Leilana Ama had 35 assists...Miekayla Surnip had 27 digs in Domincan's five-set loss to Academy of Art.

RECORD BOOK WATCH: Biola's Abigail Copeland finished her career with 430 total blocks, second all-time, with Azusa Pacific's Julianne Miller (2016-19) on top with 465. She leaves Biola as the all-time solo block leader in the PacWest with 124...Azusa Pacific's Annaka Jorgenson, another standout player for many years, wrapped up great career with 1,551 career kills (2019-23), fifth on the PacWest career list...Fresno Pacific's Corinne Acosta graduates with 1,305 kills, 9th on the same list...Acosta had 1,598 digs, 12th all-time in the PacWest...Hawai`i Hilo's Tani Hoke passed Acosta this weekend and now has 1,603 digs, 11th on the list while also passing former Vulcan Mina Grant...Makena Ogas of the Sunbirds has 73 solo blocks, ninth all-time in the conference...Kirra Schulz finishes her brilliant career with 1,169 kills in essentially three seasons, moving into the 18th slot all-time.