Courtney Schwan Named Pac-12 Player Of The Year
November 28, 2016 | Volleyball
SEATTLE – Junior outside hitter Courtney Schwan earned the biggest honor of her career and one of the prime prizes in college volleyball today as she was voted Pac-12 Player of the Year, the conference office announced. Schwan, the local product from Auburn, Wash. and Bellarmine Prep, becomes the fourth Husky to win the honor. She was one of four Dawgs to earn All-Pac-12 Team distinction.
The All-Pac-12 Team, voted on by the conference's twelve head coaches, features 18 players plus honorable mentions, as well as a seven member All-Freshman Team. Schwan, junior opposite Crissy Jones, and junior setter Bailey Tanner were voted to the All-Pac-12 Team, and freshman middle blocker Kara Bajema was an honorable mention. Bajema (Lynden, Wash.) was also named to the All-Freshman Team.
Schwan's consistency all around the court helped the Huskies push through one of the deepest and most balanced Pac-12 conferences in history to win Washington's fifth Pac-12 title with a 16-4 conference record. The Pac-12 will be sending eight teams to the NCAA tournament, with UW earning the No. 8 overall seed and hosting NCAA first and second round matches this Friday and Saturday.
The Huskies earned their third Pac-12 title in four years (2013, 2015, 2016), and this is the third Pac-12 Player of the Year award for UW in the past four years as well, as Krista Vansant won back-to-back Players of the Year in 2013 and 2014. Also winning the hardware were a pair of Husky Hall of Famers, Sanja Tomasevic in 2005 and Christal Morrison in 2006.
Schwan led a balanced Husky attack with 3.76 kills per set while hitting .311 during the regular season. Her 2.79 digs per set ranks third on the team and she is one of Washington's primary passers, taking the opponent's serve and getting the Huskies in system on offense. Her increased production in each season has been marked, going from 1.64 kills per set as a freshman to 2.82 last season and now to 3.76. Schwan did not earn All-Pac-12 honors a year ago despite good numbers and was not on the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team this fall either, but was still able to take home the league's top honor.
Getting the ball to Schwan on a regular basis was Tanner (San Clemente, Calif.), who earns her first career All-Pac-12 honor. Tanner led the Pac-12 in the regular season with 11.01 assists per set, and during Pac-12 play, she was third in the league in aces with 0.24 per set and 17 total. She averaged a career-best 2.09 digs per set and 0.62 blocks per set as well, and set the Huskies to a .269 attack percentage for the season and a .263 mark in conference play that ranked second in the league.
Jones moves up to the All-Pac-12 Team for the first time after earning honorable mention a year ago. The junior from Los Alamitos, Calif. showed her all-around skills this season, becoming a six rotation player and one of the best servers in the Pac-12, also capable of putting up 20 digs on a given night. Jones ranks second in the Pac-12 this season with 0.32 aces per set, and eighth in points per set, averaging 3.91, just behind the 4.13 points per set from Schwan. Much like Schwan, Jones increased her offensive production by nearly a full kill per set this season, going from 2.08 last year to 3.04 this season, while still hitting a strong .275. She is averaging a career-best 1.02 blocks per set and after having 80 digs over her first two seasons combined, Jones has 242 digs this year.
Bajema certainly made the most of her position switch to middle blocker at the start of the season. A converted outside hitter, she earned All-Freshman Team honors by virtue of leading the Huskies in attack percentage with a .351 mark, and leading in blocks per set with 1.31. Bajema ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in both of those categories, and she maintained her level in conference play, as her .348 attack mark against Pac-12 foes ranked third in the league behind two senior All-Americans.
Washington will take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the NCAA tournament this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Alaska Airlines Arena.
PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Courtney Schwan, Washington
PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kathryn Plummer, Stanford
PAC-12 SETTER OF THE YEAR: Penina Snuka, Arizona
PAC-12 LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Taylor Formico, UCLA
PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR: Jen Greeny, Washington State
The All-Pac-12 Team, voted on by the conference's twelve head coaches, features 18 players plus honorable mentions, as well as a seven member All-Freshman Team. Schwan, junior opposite Crissy Jones, and junior setter Bailey Tanner were voted to the All-Pac-12 Team, and freshman middle blocker Kara Bajema was an honorable mention. Bajema (Lynden, Wash.) was also named to the All-Freshman Team.
Schwan's consistency all around the court helped the Huskies push through one of the deepest and most balanced Pac-12 conferences in history to win Washington's fifth Pac-12 title with a 16-4 conference record. The Pac-12 will be sending eight teams to the NCAA tournament, with UW earning the No. 8 overall seed and hosting NCAA first and second round matches this Friday and Saturday.
The Huskies earned their third Pac-12 title in four years (2013, 2015, 2016), and this is the third Pac-12 Player of the Year award for UW in the past four years as well, as Krista Vansant won back-to-back Players of the Year in 2013 and 2014. Also winning the hardware were a pair of Husky Hall of Famers, Sanja Tomasevic in 2005 and Christal Morrison in 2006.
Schwan led a balanced Husky attack with 3.76 kills per set while hitting .311 during the regular season. Her 2.79 digs per set ranks third on the team and she is one of Washington's primary passers, taking the opponent's serve and getting the Huskies in system on offense. Her increased production in each season has been marked, going from 1.64 kills per set as a freshman to 2.82 last season and now to 3.76. Schwan did not earn All-Pac-12 honors a year ago despite good numbers and was not on the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team this fall either, but was still able to take home the league's top honor.
Getting the ball to Schwan on a regular basis was Tanner (San Clemente, Calif.), who earns her first career All-Pac-12 honor. Tanner led the Pac-12 in the regular season with 11.01 assists per set, and during Pac-12 play, she was third in the league in aces with 0.24 per set and 17 total. She averaged a career-best 2.09 digs per set and 0.62 blocks per set as well, and set the Huskies to a .269 attack percentage for the season and a .263 mark in conference play that ranked second in the league.
Jones moves up to the All-Pac-12 Team for the first time after earning honorable mention a year ago. The junior from Los Alamitos, Calif. showed her all-around skills this season, becoming a six rotation player and one of the best servers in the Pac-12, also capable of putting up 20 digs on a given night. Jones ranks second in the Pac-12 this season with 0.32 aces per set, and eighth in points per set, averaging 3.91, just behind the 4.13 points per set from Schwan. Much like Schwan, Jones increased her offensive production by nearly a full kill per set this season, going from 2.08 last year to 3.04 this season, while still hitting a strong .275. She is averaging a career-best 1.02 blocks per set and after having 80 digs over her first two seasons combined, Jones has 242 digs this year.
Bajema certainly made the most of her position switch to middle blocker at the start of the season. A converted outside hitter, she earned All-Freshman Team honors by virtue of leading the Huskies in attack percentage with a .351 mark, and leading in blocks per set with 1.31. Bajema ranks fifth in the Pac-12 in both of those categories, and she maintained her level in conference play, as her .348 attack mark against Pac-12 foes ranked third in the league behind two senior All-Americans.
Washington will take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the NCAA tournament this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Alaska Airlines Arena.
PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Courtney Schwan, Washington
PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kathryn Plummer, Stanford
PAC-12 SETTER OF THE YEAR: Penina Snuka, Arizona
PAC-12 LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Taylor Formico, UCLA
PAC-12 COACH OF THE YEAR: Jen Greeny, Washington State
2016 ALL-PAC-12 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM
| PLAYER, TEAM | POS. | HT. | YR. | HOMETOWN |
| IInky Ajanaku, STAN**** | MB | 6-3 | RS-SR | Tulsa, Okla. |
| Adora Anae, UTAH** | OH/RS | 6-1 | JR | Laie, Hawai'i |
| Amanda Benson, ORE | L | 5-7 | SR | Litchfield Park, Ariz. |
| Taylor Formico, UCLA | L/DS | 5-7 | SR | Saratoga, Calif. |
| Jennie Frager, UCLA | MB | 6-5 | SR | Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. |
| Kyra Holt, WSU** | OH | 6-1 | SR | Hercules, Calif. |
| Crissy Jones, WASH | OH | 6-2 | JR | Los Alamitos, Calif. |
| Khalia Lanier, USC | OH | 6-2 | FR | Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| Merete Lutz, STAN*** | O/MB | 6-8 | RS-JR | Houston, Texas |
| Mary-Kate Marshall, OSU** | OH | 6-1 | JR | Coppell, Texas |
| Kalei Mau, ARIZ** | OH | 6-1 | SR | Kahaluu, Hawai'i |
| Kathryn Plummer, STAN | O/S | 6-6 | FR | Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| Elise Ruddins, USC | MB | 6-3 | SR | Laguna Niguel, Calif. |
| Courtney Schwan, WASH | OH | 6-1 | JR | Auburn, Wash. |
| Penina Snuka, ARIZ*** | S | 5-6 | SR | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| Bailey Tanner, WASH | S | 6-1 | JR | San Clemente, Calif. |
| Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE** | OH | 6-3 | SO | Turlock, Calif. |
| Torrey Van Winden, UCLA | OPP/OH | 6-3 | FR | Napa, Calif. |
** two-time selection; *** three-time selection; **** four-time selection
Honorable Mention: Naghede Abu, COLO; Taylor Agost, ORE; Jordan Anderson, UCLA; Kara Bajema, WASH; Reily Buechler, UCLA; Audrianna Fitzmorris, STAN; Alyse Ford, USC; Morgan Hentz, STAN; Maddy Kerr, CAL; Tawnee Luafalemana, UTAH; Taylor Mims, WSU; Oluoma Okaro, ASU; Lauren Page, ORE; Jolie Rasmussen, ORE; Casey Schoenlein, WSU; Gabby Simpson, COLO; Alexa Smith, COLO; Ronika Stone, ORE.
2016 PAC-12 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
| PLAYER, TEAM | POS. | HT. | HOMETOWN |
| Kara Bajema, WASH | OH/MB | 6-2 | Lynden, Wash. |
| Audriana Fitzmorris, STAN | MB | 6-6 | Overland Park, Kansas |
| Morgan Hentz, STAN | DS | 5-9 | Lakeside Park, Ky. |
| Khalia Lanier, USC | OH | 6-2 | Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| Kathryn Plummer, STAN | O/S | 6-6 | Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| Ronika Stone, ORE | MB | 6-2 | San Jose, Calif. |
| Torrey Van Winden, UCLA | OPP/OH | 6-3 | Napa, Calif. |
Players Mentioned
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