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Pac-12 Announces Volleyball Players of the Week

Oct 19, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference office announced today the Pac-12 Volleyball Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 12-18. COLORADO’s Gabby Simpson was voted the Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this year, USC’s Taylor Whittingham was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week and Colorado’s Naghede Abu was selected Freshman of the Week.

PAC-12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: GABBY SIMPSON, COLORADO (SO, OH/OPP, Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Gabby Simpson did it all for the Buffaloes in their 3-1 victory over California last week. She tallied 15 kills (.273 hitting pct), three assists, two service aces, eight digs and two total blocks. Simpson then led the Buffs with a career-high 25 kills (.405 hitting pct) and 10 digs in the team’s first-ever win over No. 6 Stanford, a 3-1 decision. It was her seventh double-double of the season, averaging 5.00 kills, 5.44 points and 2.25 digs per set for the weekend, while hitting .337. It is her second time claiming the honor this year and the sixth all-time for Colorado since joining the Conference in 2011.

Also Nominated: Kalei Mau, ARIZ; Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE; Lila Toner, OSU; Hayley Hodson, STAN; Reilly Buechler, UCLA; Alyse Ford, USC; Adora Anae, UTAH; Carly DeHoog, WASH.

PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TAYLOR WHITTINGHAM, USC (JR, L, Rancho Santa Margarite, Calif.)

Taylor Whittingham posted back-to-back season highs with 26 digs in the 3-1 win over then-No. 10 Arizona State and 27 digs in the 3-1 win against then-No. 14 Arizona. She averaged 6.62 digs per set and only had one receiving error all weekend. She also contributed to the offense for the Trojans, dishing out seven assists against ASU and four against the Wildcats. It is her second-career weekly honor and the second defensive accolade for USC this year. The Trojans have 65 all-time weekly honors, the third-best total in the league.

Also Nominated: Laura Larson, ARIZ; Cierra Simpson, COLO; Kacey Nady, OSU; Merete Lutz, STAN; Claire Felix, UCLA; Cassie Strickland, WASH; Kate Sommer, WSU.

PAC-12 FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: NAGHEDE ABU, COLORADO (FR, MB, Riverside, Calif.)

Naghede Abu is the first student-athlete from Colorado to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week since the award’s inception in 2011. Abu played a vital role in Colorado’s 3-1 victories over California and then-No. 6 Stanford last weekend. Against the Golden Bears, she registered five kills and five total blocks. In the match win versus the Cardinal, the team’s first-ever against the Cardinal, Abu had two kills and seven total blocks. She is sixth in the Pac-12 on the year in total blocks with 79. 

Also Nominated: Mackenzie Albrecht, CAL; Naghede Abu, COLO; Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE; Kayla Ellis, OSU; Hayley Hodson, STAN; Baylee Johnson, USC; Destiny Julye, WASH.

Weekly awards have been selected every week of the season since the Conference began sponsoring women’s volleyball in 1986. It is the fifth 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.

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

  Offensive Defensive Freshman
Aug. 31 Samantha Bricio, USC Kalei Mau, ARIZ Hayley Hodson, STAN
Sept. 7 Samantha Bricio, USC Brenna DeYoung, UTAH Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE
Sept. 14 Samantha, Bricio, USC Lianna Sybeldon, WASH Zana Muno, UCLA
Sept. 21 Gabby Simpson, COLO Melanie Wade, WASH McKenna Woodford, WSU
Sept. 28 Samantha Bricio, USC Alicia Ogoms, USC Lindsey Vander Weide, ORE
Oct. 5 Macey Gardner, ASU Cierra Simpson, COLO Hayley Hodson, STAN
Oct. 12 Lianna Sybeldon, WASH Melanie Wade, WASH Hayley Hodson, STAN
Oct. 19 Gabby Simpson, COLO Taylor Whittingham, USC Naghede Abu, COLO