Pac-12 announces volleyball players of the week

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference office announced today the Pac-12 Volleyball Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 13-19. UCLA’s Karsta Lowe was voted the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time this season, while STANFORD’s Madi Bugg was named the Defensive Player of the Week and UCLA’s Reily Buechler was tabbed the Freshman of the Week. Lowe’s four offensive honors this year are tied for second-most in a single season with former Bruin Natalie Williams, who earned four nods in 1991.

Karsta Lowe (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) had a career weekend, averaging 6.00 kills per set and hitting at a clip of .350 in two victories for the 19th-ranked Bruins. The senior had a career high 33 kills in the 3-1 upset victory over No. 10 Oregon on Wednesday, recording the most kills for a Bruin in the rally-scoring era beginning 2001. She added 21 versus Oregon State on Friday to help UCLA earn its first weekend sweep since November 2012. Lowe also added 12 digs, a block and an ace in the two matches to average 6.17 points per game. She leads the Bruins and the nation in kills per set with 6.03 and points per set with 6.65, adding a team-best .344 hitting percentage. Lowe is also tied for the team lead with 16 aces, and is second with 1.88 digs per set and fourth with 0.69 blocks per set. 

Madi Bugg (Apex, N.C.) anchored the Cardinal defense in road wins at Colorado and Utah last week. The junior averaged 3.56 digs and 0.44 blocks per set while also controlling the offense with 11.44 assists per set. At Colorado, Bugg tied a career high with 17 digs while registering a new career best in kills with seven. She also tallied 51 assists in the match for her sixth double-double of the year. The 2013 Pac-12 Setter of the Year followed up with 52 assists, 15 digs and three blocks at Utah for her seventh double-double as the Cardinal tied its season high with 15 total blocks. Stanford is off to its best season start at 18-0 since 1994 when it went 20-0. 

Reily Buechler (Del Mar, Calif.) posted 26 total kills in a pair of Bruin victories, along with 19 digs and seven blocks with a .277 hitting percentage. The freshman opened the week with her first-career double-double, recording 13 kills and 13 digs in the 3-1 upset win over No. 10 Oregon. On Friday, she tacked on another 13 kills, and added six digs and three blocks against Oregon State. Buechler is second on the team in kills per set with an average of 2.95 on the season, adding 1.06 digs per set and 0.41 blocks per set. 

Lowe’s weekly honor is the sixth of her career and UCLA’s 74th all-time. Bugg’s recognition is the first defensive honor of her career and her second weekly honor overall, as well as the 91st all-time for the Cardinal. Buechler’s freshman of the week honor is second overall for the Bruins. 

UCLA travels to the Bay Area to take on top-ranked Stanford and California on Friday, Oct. 24 and Sunday, Oct. 26, respectively, with both matches being televised on the Pac-12 Networks. Stanford hosts USC on Sunday after playing the Bruins on Friday in a match that will also be televised live on the Conference’s networks. For more information, including a complete schedule, visit www.pac-12.com. 

Also Nominated

Offensive: Madi Kingdon, ARIZ; Alexis Austin, COLO; Amanda Brown, OSU; Morgan Boukather, STAN; Ebony Nwanebu, USC; Krista Vansant, WASH. 

Defensive: Cierra Simpson, COLO; Darby Reeder, OSU; Taylor Formico, UCLA; Samantha Bricio, USC; Lea Adolph, UTAH; Cassie Strickland, WASH; Kate Sommer, WSU. 

Freshman: McKenzie Jacobson, ARIZ; Anna Pfefferle, COLO; Frankie Shebby, ORE; Mary-Kate Marshall, OSU; Merete Lutz, STAN; Crissy Jones, WASH.

2014 PAC-12 VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK