The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 2013 AVCA All-Region Team and five Big West athletes nabbed a spot on the elite list.
The 2013 Big West Player of the Year, Emily Hartong (Hawai’i), secured a spot on the AVCA All-Pacific North Region Team, while teammate Nikki Taylor received honorable mention recognition. Cal State Northridge duo Casey Hinger and Sydney Gedryn earned spots on the All-Pacific South Region with Long Beach State’s Chisom Okpala being named to the honorable mention team.
Collecting her third all-region honor, Hartong guided Hawai’i to a share of its second straight Big West Conference championship with a 13-3 mark. The 6-foot, 2-inch outside hitter paced the league and ranked seventh in the nation with a 4.69 kill average, while hitting .294 on the season. She also tallied a league-leading 5.24 points per set average to place eighth in the country. Over the course of the season the Los Alamitos, Calif., native collected four Big West Player of the Week awards to increase her career total to eight. Her first honor of the season came the first week of the season after leading the Rainbow Wahine to a victory over No. 1 Texas, their first win over a No. 1-ranked opponent since knocking off UCLA in 2000.
Freshman Rainbow Wahine Nikki Taylor concluded the 2013 season being named to the All-Big West First Team and All-Freshman Team. The outside hitter from Honolulu, O’ahu, ranked 10th in the conference with a .287 hitting percentage, while finishing second on the team with a 2.70 kills per set average. Taylor earned her first Big West Player of the Week award on Nov. 25 after hitting a resounding .444 in straight set wins over UC Davis and Cal State Northridge, combining for 26 kills on 45 swings with only six errors.
Hinger earned her second straight all-region honor after leading the Matadors and finishing in the Big West’s top 10 in both hitting percentage and blocks. The junior middle blocker from Fullerton, Calif., registered the league’s fifth-best attack percentage of .327 while sitting eighth in blocks with a 1.01 average. Hinger’s efforts this season earned her All-Big West First Team honors for the third time in her career, as well as Big West Player of the Week accolades on Nov. 11
Gedryn, a senior setter from San Jose, Calif., tallied 1,175 assists this season (10.31 APS) which ranks fourth among Big West setters. Gedryn guided the Matadors to a share of their first Big West championship by directing the Matador offense to a .264 hitting percentage, the second best mark in the conference. She also ranks third among CSUN blockers this season with 95 total blocks for a .83 average.
Okpala earned AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention honors after leading the 49ers in hitting percentage this year. The junior middle blocker blasted a .351 clip to sit third in the league. She also ranked fourth in the Big West with 1.15 blocks per set. In 2013, Okpala earned a spot on the All-Big West First Team for the second time in her career.