A 49er and two Rainbow Wahine were singled out for top performances as they collected the Big West Women’s Volleyball weekly honors.
Okpala Helps Long Beach State Clinch Big West Title
Long Beach State senior Chisom Okpala (Yorba Linda, Calif./Valencia HS) garnered Big West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week honors as her hitting and blocking helped the 49ers clinch the outright conference title.
Okpala hit .486 (24-6-37) and averaged 1.50 blocks per set as a key catalyst in road sweeps of UC Davis and UC Riverside. She posted 12 kills in both matches, and hit .733 against UC Riverside, accumulating her kill total on just 15 swings.
The 6-2 middle blocker also totalled nine blocks in the two victories, with seven coming against the Highlanders. She is hitting a career-best .374 for the season and .430 in Big West matches.
Others nominated: Niki Withers (Cal State Fullerton); Steffi Miller (CSUN); Allison Lee (UC Irvine); Ali Barbeau (UC Santa Barbara); Nikki Taylor (Hawai‘i)
Greeley’s Two Double-Doubles Power Hawai‘i To Road Sweep
Posting a pair of double-doubles in road wins over UC Santa Barbara and Hawai‘i, Kalei Greeley (Riverside, Calif./King HS) earned Big West Women’s Volleyball Freshman of the Week accolades.
Greeley recorded her third and fourth double-doubles of the season, hitting .347 (30-5-72) for the weekend. She hit .432 with 19 kills in a five-set win against the Gauchos and scooped up 13 balls to go along with a pair of block assists.
In a four-set triumph versus the Mustangs, Greeley contributed 11 kills, 10 digs and two more block assists as UH won for the seventh time in its last eight contests.
Others nominated: Raeann Greisen (Cal Poly); Niki Withers (Cal State Fullerton); Ashley Murray (Long Beach State); Kristen Berlo (UC Santa Barbara)
Taylor Records UH’s First Triple-Double In Rally Scoring Era
Hawaii sophomore Nikki Taylor (Honolulu, O’ahu/Kaiser HS) took home Big West Women’s Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week honors, achieved in large part to posting the program’s first triple-double in the rally scoring era.
The 6-3 outside hitter posted 10 kills, 10 digs and a career-high 11 blocks in the Rainbow Wahine’s four-set victory at Cal Poly. On the previous night, she pounded 16 kills to go along with a career-high 21 digs to help UH outlast UC Santa Barbara in five sets.
For the week, Taylor averaged 2.89 kills, 3.44 digs and 1.44 blocks per set.
Others nominated: Nicole Kessler (Cal Poly); Paige Reed (Cal State Fullerton); Kelcie Randazzo (CSUN); Jenelle Hudson (Long Beach State); Ali Spindt (UC Santa Barbara)