Six Big West Conference athletes received 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Honorable Mention accolades, as announced by the AVCA today. Making the AVCA All-America Honorable Mention team are UC Santa Barbara's Rebecca Saraceno and Dana Vargas, UC Irvine's Kari Pestolesi and Naomi Washington (Long Beach State) and Kayla Neto (Cal State Fullerton).
Saraceno led the Big West Conference and ranks among the top 20 in the country in kills, averaging 4.45 per set. The Redondo Beach, Calif., native was also one of the best in the league in service aces in 2009 with a seventh place ranking (0.28 p/s). Earlier this season she became just the sixth player in conference history to garner four or more weekly accolades in one season. Her second award of the year also earned her AVCA National Player of the Week honors, which followed a career-high 29 kills that tied for third all-time in school history under the rally-scoring format.
Saraceno, along with 49er setter, Vargas, assisted in the Gauchos' successful season that showcased a 20-plus win season and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2006. Vargas averaged 10.90 assists per set to rank second in the Big West Conference and contributed to the accomplishments of Saraceno and Stacey Schmidt, who sits third in the league with a .330 hitting percentage.
Washington eclipsed the 1,000-career kill mark this season and guided Long Beach State to its 10th Big West Championship and 23rd consecutive, 24th overall, NCAA Tournament. The outside hitter from New Orleans, La., finished the 2009 season ranked third in the Big West in kills with a 4.14 average. Washington, who led Long Beach State in kills (464) and ranked third in blocks (66), collected two Big West Player of the Week accolades over the course of the year.
After becoming the first Titan in 29 years to collect Big West Freshman of the Year honors, Neto added AVCA All-West Region Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention accolades to her resume last week. Hailing from Clarksburg, Calif., Neto ranked fifth in the Big West in hitting percentage with a .319 clip. Her numbers are even more impressive when you look at conference-only contests, where she topped the charts with a .374 hitting percentage and placed sixth with a 3.60 kill average. Neto was also a two-time Big West Player of the Week recipient and the only freshman to receive a weekly nod this season, accumulating accolades on Oct. 5 and Nov. 9.
Pestolesi is ranked among the Big West leaders in aces (3rd), kills (4th), and digs (6th) and tops the Anteaters with 437 kills on the season and is averaging 3.87 per set. She is also the team leader in aces with 41 and is second with 442 digs. The junior standout was voted AVCA National Player of the Week earlier this season after helping the Anteaters upset then-No. 6 California. This season, she has collected three tournament MVP honors and dots both the UCI career and season records. Pestolesi has accumulated 22 double-double matches (kills/digs) with a season-best 23 kills against UConn and 26 digs against Seattle.
She is joined on the honorable mention team by teammate Piggot, an outside hitter who ranks 10th in the Big West in kill average at 3.15 and boasts a 3.53 per-set average in Big West contests. The junior transfer posted a career-high 27 kills in the Big West title match against Long Beach State and picked up a season-high 16 digs twice against UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara. She recorded six double-double matches this season and reached 20 or more digs twice.