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 opening week of the season. USC’s Samantha Bricio was voted the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week, ARIZONA’s Kalei Mau was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week and STANFORD’s Hayley Hodson was selected the Freshman of the Week.

PAC-12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: SAMANTHA BRICIO, USC (SR, OH, Guadalajara, Mexico)

Samantha Bricio led then-No. 22 USC to a pair of upset victories, and 3-0 overall, at the Women of Troy Baden Invitational in the opening weekend of play. The tournament’s Most Valuable Player, she averaged 6.70 points, 5.80 kills and 3.20 digs per set, while hitting .320. Bricio had 24 kills, 18 digs and five blocks in the 3-1 win over then-No. 7 North Carolina in the season opener. After the Trojans swept Chicago State, turning in a .350 hitting efficiency, she posted 25 kills, 11 digs and three blocks, while hitting .400, in the 3-0 sweep of then-No. 11 BYU. The Conference’s all-time service aces leader, she had five on the weekend, including three against Chicago State. It is the fourth time in her career she has been voted the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. It is also USC’s 60th all-time weekly honor and eighth weekly offensive nod.

Also Nominated: Nikki Attea, ARIZ; Kizzy Ricedorff (Willey), ASU; Lara Vukasovic, CAL; Alexis Austin, Martenne Bettendorf, ORE; Mary-Kate Marshall, OSU; Jordan Burgess, STAN; Jordan Anderson, UCLA; Adora Anae, UTAH; Courtney Schwan, WASH; Kyra Holt, WSU.

PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: KALEI MAU, ARIZONA (JR, OH, Kahaluu, Hawai’i)

Kalei Mau averaged 5.29 digs per set, while also contributing 4.00 points per set, helping the Wildcats to wins over SMU and Texas State at the SMU Invitational. After entering the season with just 28 career digs, Mau accounted for 31 in the win over SMU, the fifth-most in program history. She also had 14 kills and three blocks. In the sweep of Texas State, she had 12 kills, six blocks and hit at a .393 clip. It is her first-career weekly honor for Mau and Arizona’s 36th all-time weekly recognition (fourth defensive nod).

Also Nominated: Whitney Follette, ASU; Cierra Simpson, COLO; Amanda Benson, ORE; Darby Reeder, OSU; Ivana Vanjak, STAN; Reily Buechler, UCLA; Taylor Whittingham, USC; Tess Sutton, UTAH; Melanie Wade, WASH; Kate Sommer, WSU.

PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: HAYLEY HODSON, STANFORD (FR, OPP, Newport Beach, Calif.)

Haley Hodson recorded a double-double in her collegiate debut to help No. 2 Stanford defeat Texas A&M in the season opener, then was one kill shy of a double-double in a win over Minnesota on the following night. Both wins came by virtue of a sweep. The No. 1 recruit in the nation last year, she had 10 kills, 11 digs and a block against the Aggies. She then recorded nine kills, 12 digs and five blocks against the Golden Gophers. For the weekend, she averaged 3.17 kills, 3.98 digs, 1.00 blocks and 4.08 points per set. It is the Cardinal’s 10th all-time weekly freshman of the week honor.

Also Nominated: Tyler Spriggs, ARIZ; Naghede Abu, COLO; Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE; Kayla Ellis, OSU; Baylee Johnson, USC; Berkeley Oblad, USC; McKenna Woodford, WSU.

2015 PAC-12 WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK