Joy Umeh, UC Irvine  Women's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week  Junior • Outside Hitter • Lakewood, Calif.

• UC Irvine’s Joy Umeh led the Anteaters to victories over CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly to claim Big West Offensive Player of the Week.  

• Umeh posted averages of 4.67 kills, 1.11 digs, 0.89 blocks and 5.11 points in nine sets played. The outside hitter led UC Irvine in the five-set win against CSU Bakersfield with a season-high 24 kills while adding six digs and four block assists.  

• On Saturday, the Lakewood, Calif., native added 18 kills on .317 hitting (18-5-41) in a four-setter against the Mustangs which snapped a six-match winning streak for Cal Poly. 

• The win ran UC Irvine’s home record to 10-1 on the year, with the only blemish at the Bren coming on Sept. 24 against UC Santa Barbara. 

• The weekly honor is Umeh’s second of the season (Sept. 12) and fourth of her career. Umeh is the lone woman in the 2022 season to claim Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions.  

Also Nominated: Morgan Chacon (Long Beach State); Maia Dvoracek (Cal Poly); Jade Light (UC Davis); Emily McDaniel (UC San Diego); Michelle Ohwobete (UC Santa Barbara); Lyla Traylor (Cal State Fullerton); Mylei Vargas-Deason (UC Riverside); Riley Wagoner (Hawai’i)

Dylan Dela Cruz, Long Beach State  Women's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week  Senior • Libero • Long Beach, Calif.

• Libero Dylan Dela Cruz continued to anchor the defense for red-hot Long Beach State in two more victories, both on the road, that stretched her team’s win streak to a season-high six. The fifth-year senior averaged 6.11 digs per set with 55 total, and also produced 12 assists to claim Big West weekly honors. 

• Dela Cruz first collected a match-high 32 digs, two short of her career best, in a five-set triumph over host UC Riverside on Thursday night. That gave her a pair of 30-plus-dig performances over a span of three contests and seven days. A Beach student-athlete had not previously reached that mark in over a decade, since 2010. 

• The Long Beach native (Long Beach Poly HS) added 23 more digs to again pace LBSU in a come-from-behind, four-set victory at UC Davis on Saturday night. It was Dela Cruz’s seventh 20-plus-dig effort of 2022. 

• Dela Cruz has appeared in all 18 matches for Long Beach State, and reached double-digit digs in all but one. 

• Dela Cruz is now a back-to-back Big West Defensive Player of the Week, and has picked up three awards in all for 2022. She earned the season’s first award back on Aug. 29. Dela Cruz remains the league’s lone standout with multiple defensive awards.  

Also Nominated: Paige Calvin (CSU Bakersfield); Naya Dong (UC San Diego); Kendra Ham (Hawai’i); Tayler Hifo (UC Riverside); Campbell Jensen (UC Irvine); Nadia Koanui (Cal State Fullerton); Shira Lahav (UC Davis); Meredith Phillips (Cal Poly); Deni Wilson (UC Santa Barbara)

Elizabeth Schuster, Cal State Fullerton  Women's Volleyball Setter of the Week  Senior • Setter • Long Beach, Calif.

• Elizabeth Schuster orchestrated a Titan offense that hit at a .217 clip in two road wins en route to Big West Setter of the Week. This marks Schuster’s first career weekly honor. 

• The senior dished out 48 assists in a five-setter at UC Davis to go along with four kills on a .800 hitting percentage, nine digs and a block. The hotly-contested fifth set needed extra points, as the Titans trailed 15-14 in the final frame before scoring the final three points to seal the win. 

• In the 3-2 at UC Riverside, Schuster notched a double-double performance with a season-best 50 assists and 12 digs, as well as finishing with three blocks and an ace for the Titans. 

• After the impressive weekend, Schuster is averaging 9.46 assists per set, good for fourth in The Big West.   

Also Nominated: Emme Bullis (Cal Poly); Tayler Hifo (UC Riverside); Kate Lang (Hawai’i); Mehana Ma’a (UC Santa Barbara); Zayna Meyer (Long Beach State); Kelly Negron (UC Irvine); Casi Newman (UC Davis); Izzi Strand (UC San Diego)

Campbell Jensen, UC Irvine  Women's Volleyball Freshman of the Week  Freshman • Libero • Burbank, Calif.

• UC Irvine’s Campbell Jensen was once again stellar on defense, averaging 5.78 digs per set in a pair of Anteater victories to earn Big West Freshman of the Week for the second time of the season (Sept. 12).  

• The libero matched a career-high with 29 digs against CSU Bakersfield while adding two aces and nine assists in the five-setter. The 29-dig tally is tied for fifth most this season by a Big West player.  

• The libero from Burbank, Calif., added a 23-dig performance in the 3-1 win over Cal Poly, running the UC Irvine home record to 10-1 on the year.  

• Jensen leads the conference and rates 28th nationally with a 4.87 dig per set average on the season. She has recorded 20 or more digs nine times this season, including each of the last four outings and in six of the last seven for UC Irvine. 

Also Nominated: Caylen Alexander (Hawai’i); Lizzie Binder (CSU Bakersfield); Emme Bullis (Cal Poly); Jessica Dean (UC Riverside); Jade Light (UC Davis); Bianca Martinez (Cal State Fullerton); Zayna Meyer (Long Beach State); Katie Rapp (UC San Diego)

2022 Big West Women's Volleyball Weekly Winners