Pac-12 announces beach volleyball awards

SAN FRANCISCO - USC senior Kelly Claes was voted Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Player of the Year for the second-straight year, and two-time Pac-12 Pairs champion Claes and classmate Sara Hughes are the Pac-12 Pair of the Year for the second-straight year, the Conference office announced today. STANFORD’s Kathryn Plummer was voted the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and UCLA’s Stein Metzger was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Claes (Fullerton, Calif.), along with pair teammate Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.), have led the Trojans to back-to-back Pac-12 team titles and consecutive Pac-12 pairs crowns. As a pair, the duo has won 103-straight matches until losing on April 8, 2017. That incredible streak included just seven set losses over their career. The duo were Pac-12 Pair of the Week honorees five of the eight weeks this season and led USC to a 62-match win streak and a 34-1 overall record in 2017 as it heads into the NCAA Tournament to defend its national crown as the No. 1 overall seed.

Plummer (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) was half of Stanford’s top pair this season. Also a member of the Cardinal’s indoor volleyball team where she was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, as well as the AVCA National Freshman of the Year, she has amassed a 12-10 record this season.

UCLA’s Metzger earns the Pac-12’s Coach of the Year honor for the first time. Under his tutelage, the Bruins are the No. 2-ranked team in the country and the No. 2 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. UCLA handed No. 1 USC its first loss of the season in the semifinal of the Pac-12 Tournament, snapping a 62-dual match Trojan win streak and finished runner up in the Conference Championship, falling by just a pair of points in the deciding dual. The Bruins are 29-4 on the season.

Pac-12 Player of the Year: Kelly Claes, USC
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year: Kathryn Plummer, STAN
Pac-12 Pair of the Year: Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, USC
Pac-12 Coach of the Year: Stein Metzger, UCLA

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ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM