UC Irvine outside hitter Marisa Bubica, Cal State Fullerton outside hitter Niki Withers and UC Santa Barbara libero Ali Spindt performed at high levels in tournament competition to earn the weekly women’s volleyball awards this week.
Bubica Named Golden Grizzlies Invitational Most Valuable Player
UC Irvine junior Marisa Bubica (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro HS) is the Big West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week after capturing the Most Valuable Player award at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational.
Playing four matches in the state of Michigan, Bubica helped the Anteaters finish the roadtrip 4-0 and leave with a 10-4 overall record.
Bubica averaged 5.50 kills and hit .349 through the four matches as UCI did not drop a set in any of its three tournament victories. The outside hitter hit above .300 in three of the four matches, including a .423 (13-2-26) mark against Bowling Green. She amassed a career-high 25 kills at Eastern Michigan on Thursday, besting her personal high for the second time this year. She committed only five errors in that match and finished with a .351 hitting percentage to go along with six digs and a pair of blocks.
The tournament MVP honor is the first of Bubica’s career.
Others nominated: Taylor Nelson (Cal Poly); Niki Withers (Cal State Fullerton); Danetta Boykin (CSUN); Bre Mackie (Long Beach State); Bri Holmes (UC Riverside); Phoebe Grunt (UC Santa Barbara); Tai Manu-Olevao (Hawai‘i)
Withers Earns Third Freshman Honor
Cal State Fullerton outside hitter Niki Withers (Lakewood, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) notched her third honor in four weeks with her selection as the Big West Women’s Volleyball Freshman of the Week.
Withers captured all-tournament honors at the Fullerton Classic after leading the weekend with 56 kills and a 4.67 kills per set average. She hammered a career-high 25 kills with just six errors and hit .339 (25-6-56) in a five-set thriller over Georgetown. That marked the third time this season Withers had 20 or more kills in a match.
The team’s leader with a 3.96 kills per game average for the season, Withers also led the Titans offensively in losses to Yale (3-1) and No. 22 UCLA (3-0) with 18 and 13 kills, respectively.
Withers added 11 digs and six blocks for the tournament.
Others nominated: Raeann Greisen (Cal Poly); Anete Brinke (Long Beach State); Aspen Potter (UC Irvine); Alex Gresham (UC Riverside); Kalei Greeley (Hawai‘i)
Spindt Scoops Way To MVP Honors
UC Santa Barbara sophomore Ali Spindt (Menlo Park, Calif./Menlo-Atherton HS) garnered Big West Women’s Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week recognition after averaging 6.00 digs per set en route to Most Valuable Player honors of the UCSB/Cal Poly Tournament.
Behind her career-high 27 digs in a four-set win over Northern Illinois, Spindt helped the Gauchos hold their opponents to a combined .186 hitting percentage in two matches. Spindt anchored the UCSB defense with a match-high 15 digs in a sweep of Santa Clara. The Broncos came into the match hitting .328, good for fourth nationally, but managed to swing at just a .168 clip with Spindt leading the Gauchos defensively.
Spindt also collected 12 assists in the two contests.
Others nominated: Nicole Kessler (Cal Poly); Kelcie Randazzo (CSUN); Tyler Jackson (Long Beach State); Katie Quinn (UC Davis); Arden Davis (UC Irvine); Sarah Mendoza (Hawai‘i)