The 2014 Big West Conference champion, Long Beach State, continued its dominance in the conference’s annual awards, sweeping the top three honors. Jenelle Hudson was tabbed Big West Player of the Year and teammate Ashley Murray earning Big West Freshman of the Year honors. Rounding out the 49er trio was Brian Gimmillaro, who picked up the Big West Coach of the Year award.
Hudson becomes the first setter in 15 years, and the first Long Beach State player since 2006, to earn Big West Player of the Year distinction. Pacific’s Kara Gormsen was an All-American setter in 2000 who recorded the conference’s second-best, single-season assist average of 14.26, which still stands today. Under Hudson’s leadership, the 49ers are hitting .262 to rank second in the league and have three players ranked in the league’s top 10 in hitting percentage.
The San Diego, Calif., native ranks second in the Big West with 1,082 assists and registered 14 double-doubles on the season. She tied her career-high in digs on November 20, tallying 21 scoops that evening against UC Davis. With this year’s honor, Hudson becomes LBSU’s 13th Big West Player of the Year recipient, joining an elite list that includes Alexis Crimes (2006), Cheryl Weaver (2000, 2001), Misty May (1996-98), Nichelle Burton (1994), Danielle Scott (1992-93), Antoinnette White (1991) and Tara Cross (1988-89).
In her first year donning black & gold, Murray is already proving her worth at the net, both on offense and defense, ranking in the conference’s top 10 in blocks and hitting percentage. The middle blocker from Torrance, Calif., owns a team-best 1.27 blocks per set average to sit third in the Big West, while ranking second on the team and fourth in the league with a .359 attack percentage. She recorded her first career double-double on September 6, posting 11 kills and 11 blocks, and collected three Big West Player of the Week accolades during the season. Murray is LBSU’s first freshman of the year since Caitlin Ledoux received the award in 2008 and fifth overall.
In his 30th season at the helm of the Long Beach State women’s volleyball program, head coach Brian Gimmillaro guided the 49ers (26-4) to their first Big West Conference championship since 2011, 13th overall, with an unblemished 16-0 league mark. It marked the fifth time in program history Long Beach State tallied a perfect conference record as they became the ninth team in Big West history to have an undefeated season. The 49ers swept 15 of their opponents this year, including a streak of six sweeps to close out the regular season. With the title, Long Beach State was awarded the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament for their 27th appearance. Gimmillaro is the winingest coach in Big West history, sporting an overall mark of 786-204 and conference record of 399-107 during his time in the Big West Conference. This is the ninth Big West Coach of the Year accolade for Gimmillaro.
Six teams were represented on the first team with Long Beach State leading the pack with five selections followed closely by Hawai’i with four nods. CSUN and UC Irvine each received three honors and UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara both picked up one selection.
CSUN senior Casey Hinger collected her fourth All-Big West First Team honor to become the ninth player in Big West history to earn such a distinction. Chisom Okpala is making her third appearance on the first-team list, while UC Santa Barbara’s Ali Barbeau and Hawai’i’s Nikki Taylor collected their second honor.