Pac-12 Sweeps Top Region Volleyball Honors

SAN FRANCISCO - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its all-region awards on Tuesday and USC head coach Mick Haley and WASHINGTON head coach Keegan Cook were named their respective region’s Coach of the Year. STANFORD’s Hayley Hodson and USC’s Baylee Johnson also garnered regional recognition and were both voted their region’s Freshman of the Year.

Haley and Johnson swept the AVCA’s Pacific South Region top honors. Haley is the region’s standout coach after leading the Trojans to the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a share of the Pac-12 regular-season crown, bouncing back from a 16-16 season last year. Haley was voted the Pac-12 Coach of the Year by the league’s coaches.

Johnson is ninth in the Conference in assists per set, averaging 7.10 helpers per game, directing an offense that ranks sixth in the country in hitting percentage (.294) and fifth in kills (14.67), while leading the Conference and ranking sixth in the nation in assists per set (13.81). Johnson, Haley and the rest of the Trojans remain in contention for the NCAA title, heading to San Diego on Friday for the regional semifinal.

Hodson takes home the Pacific North Region’s top freshman honors after being voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and leading the Cardinal to a third-place league finish. She is the top-scoring freshman in the Conference, averaging 4.52 points per game. Her 3.82 kills per set and 0.34 aces per set are seventh and third, respectively, in the Pac-12, and tops among all league rookies.

In his first season at the helm, Cook led the Huskies to clinch a share of the Pac-12 title, the program’s fourth all-time and second in three years. UW leads the nation in hitting percentage at .316, while also ranking fifth in opponent hitting percentage, limiting foes to a .146 hitting percentage. Posting its third-straight 30-win season, Washington earned the No. 1 overall ranking in the final regular-season AVCA polling and is the No. 5 seed in the Lexington Regional in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies will play in the regional semifinal on Friday.

Six total Pac-12 players earned spots on the 14-member All-Pacific North Region team, with four coming from Stanford and an additional two from Washington. Among those honored were Hodson and Pac-12 Setter of the Year Madi Bugg from Stanford. Two more were named honorable mention. In the Pacific South Region, nine players hail from Pac-12 schools, including three each from UCLA and USC. Included in those that were honored were Pac-12 Player of the Year and ESPNW National Player of the Year USC’s Samantha Bricio and Pac-12 Libero of the Year UCLA’s Taylor Formico. An additional four were tabbed honorable mention.

For a full list of the all-region honorees, visit the AVCA’s website or click here.