Pac-12 announces volleyball players of the week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - The Pac-12 Conference office announced the Pac-12 Volleyball Players of the Week for the week of October 21-27. WASHINGTON’s Lianna Sybeldon was named the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week, UTAH’s Erin Redd-Brandon was voted the Defensive Player of the Week and CALIFORNIA’s Maddy Kerr was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Week.

Sophomore Lianna Sybeldon (Folsom, Calif.) helped the Huskies earn their first road sweep of UCLA and USC since the 2008 season, moving UW into sole possession of first-place in the Pac-12 with a 9-1 record. The middle blocker had 12 kills on a .400 attack percentage plus seven blocks in the four-set win at UCLA on Friday. She topped that with a new career-high 15 kills on a .462 percentage at No. 4 USC on Sunday evening, adding five more blocks for a career-high 18.0 points. The Huskies snapped a 16-match home-winning streak for the Trojans. For the weekend, Sybeldon averaged 3.38 kills per set and 1.50 blocks per set while hitting .431.

Senior middle blocker Erin Redd-Brandon (Spanish Fork, Utah) led an impressive Utah block last weekend, helping the Utes claim their first-ever Pac-12 weekend sweep with victories over Arizona State and No. 25 Arizona. Redd-Brandon averaged 2.67 kills and 0.56 service aces per set, and secured her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 blocks on Thursday in a five-set victory over Arizona State. She posted a .333 hitting percentage on the attack with only five errors on a season-high 31 attempts against the Sun Devils. She was again dominant at the net in the upset win over the 25th-ranked Wildcats, recording eight blocks, while also serving a career-high four aces and hit .333 with nine kills. The win on Sunday was Utah's first victory over Arizona since Nov. 30, 2002 and the fifth all-time.

Freshman libero Maddy Kerr (San Diego, Calif.) had one of the most memorable defensive performances in Cal history during the Bears’ five-set upset win over No. 20 Oregon. She registered a school-record tying 33 digs in the victory, also the second-highest in the Pac-12 this season. It was only the 10th time in Cal history someone has had at least 30 digs in a match. Kerr added 12 digs against Oregon State to average 4.50 digs per set for the week.

It is Sybeldon’s first-career weekly honor and Washington’s 40th all-time. It is the second-career weekly honor for Redd-Brandon, earning a defensive nod for her performance during the opening week of the season. It is the third weekly recognition all-time for the Utes, all coming this season. Kerr earns the freshman nod for the first time this season and the fourth for a Cal rookie all-time.

Weekly awards have been selected every week of the season since the Conference began sponsoring women’s volleyball in 1986. It is the third year the Pac-12 has announced an offensive, defensive and rookie honoree. Freshman of the week honors are not included in the all-time totals for each institution.

Washington hosts Utah and Colorado this weekend, with Utah traveling to Washington State on Saturday. Cal remains at home to host USC on Friday and UCLA and Saturday. In total, nine matches will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks this week. 

Also Nominated:

OFFENSIVE: Halli Amaro, ARIZ; Lara Vukasovic, CAL; Taylor Simpson, COLO; Jordan Burgess, STAN; Karsta Lowe, UCLA; Samantha Bricio, USC; Shelby Dalton, UTAH.

DEFENSIVE: Candace Nicholson, CAL; Maddy Kerr, CAL; Nikki Lindow, COLO; Amanda Benson, ORE; Kyle Gilbert, STAN; Mariana Aquino, UCLA; Natalie Hagglund, USC; Jenna Orlandini, WASH.

FRESHMAN: Penina Snuka, ARIZ; Cierra Simpson, COLO; Amanda Benson, ORE; Ebony Nwanebu, USC; Tess Sutton, UTAH.

2013 Pac-12 Women’s Volleyball Players of the Week