Sept. 3, 2012
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Coming off her second consecutive tournament MVP honor, sophomore Krista Vansant was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, the conference office announced today. The outside hitter led Washington to three wins in Houston at the Tiger Classic this past weekend, including a win over then-No. 7 Purdue. Vansant, from Redlands, Calif., is the first Husky to win Offensive Player of the Week honors since the Pac-12 split the weekly awards into three categories last year. In 2011, Vansant won the Freshman of the Week honor three times en route to being named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. UW also had two Defenisve Player of the Week awards last year, but this is the first for offense. In the relocated tournament, originally set for LSU but moved to Rice, Vansant led the Huskies to wins over the Boilermakers, Tigers, and Owls, all in straight sets. She averaged 4.22 kills per set while hitting at a .314 clip. In the upset of Purdue, Vansant hit .320 with 14 kills, six digs, and three blocks. She hit .345 with 13 kills in the sweep of LSU, and then had her second double-double of the season against Rice, with 11 kills and 11 digs. Vansant has posted double-figure kill totals in every match as Huskies are off to a 6-0 start. The AVCA also released its newest top-25 rankings this afternoon, with Washington climbing up to No. 7. The sophomore is also the first UW outside hitter to win a Pac-12 weekly award aside from her own Freshman of the Week honors last year. Despite All-America careers from the likes of Kindra Carlson and Becky Perry, it had been since Christal Morrison in 2007 that a Husky outside hitter was a Pac-12 Player of the Week. Washington is back home this week to host The Invitational At Seattle, Washington, which includes a Thursday night match against Seattle U and a Friday night encounter with Long Beach State, both at Alaska Airlines Arena. 2012 Pac-12 Women's Volleyball Players of the Week Offensive Defensive Freshman Aug. 27 Alaina Bergsma, ORE Arica Nassar, OSU Samantha Bricio, USC |
