The Big West Conference earned seven spots on the 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-West Region team, including AVCA Region Freshman of the Year Kayla Neto (Cal State Fullerton). Making the All-West Region team is a UC Santa Barbara duo consisting of 2009 Big West Player of the Year Rebecca Saraceno and Dana Vargas, along with Long Beach States Naomi Washington who is making her second appearance on the distinguished list. Neto, Kari Pestolesi (UC Irvine), Caitlin Ledoux (Long Beach State) and Juliane Piggot (UC Irvine) were selected to the honorable mention team.
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 has now added AVCA All-West Region Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention accolades to her resume. 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.
Ledoux rounds out the Big West quartet that received an honorable mention nod. The 2008 Big West Freshman of the Year and 2009 All-Big West First Team member ended the season ranked sixth in the league with a 3.58 kill average. A record-setting performance late in the year earned Ledoux a Big West Player of the Week award. She tied former 49er Tara Cross for the sixth-most kills in a single match in Long Beach State history with 33. Her 33 kills were the most for any Long Beach State player since Tayyiba Haneef in 2000, and Ledoux was just the third player in school history to reach 33 kills, joining Haneef and Cross (five times) at that number.