Miner Tabbed Freshman of the Year
STANFORD, Calif. – Setter Kami Miner has been named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, highlighting Stanford's all-conference selections, the Pac-12 announced today.
Caitie Baird and Kendall Kipp were named to the 18-player all-conference team, while Miner was an honorable mention selection. Joining Miner on the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team was Sami Francis. Stanford now has 152 all-conference selections all-time, including honorable mention, and 47 all-freshman picks.
Miner is the 13th Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in program history – the most by a Pac-12 school. She is the first since Kathryn Plummer took home the honor in 2016.
A setter from Redondo Beach, Miner leads the Pac-12 and ranks eighth nationally with 11.42 assists per set. She leads the team with nine double-doubles and has set the Cardinal to a .282 clip for the season – good for second in the Pac-12. A four-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, Miner racked up a career-high 60 assists in a four-set win over Cal in September.
Baird, an outside hitter from Indianapolis, led the team and ranked third in the Pac-12 with 4.20 kills per set and 4.79 points per set. She was also third on the team with 2.17 digs per set. She was second on the squad with eight double-doubles, bringing her career count to 13. A two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, she had a career-high 26 kills on a career-best .543 attack percentage against Washington on Nov. 11.
An opposite from Newport Beach, Kipp is second on the team and seventh in the Pac-12 with 3.77 kills per set. She also ranks fourth in the conference with 4.60 points per set and 10th in aces per set (0.31) and hitting percentage (.337). Kipp has recorded double-digit kills in 22 matches and hit .300 or better on 17 occasions.
Despite missing the first six matches of the season, Francis is third on the team with 238 kills, averaging 2.83 per set. She is also posting 3.15 points per set and 0.54 blocks per set for the Cardinal. She registered a career-high 19 kills in a four-set win over California on Sept. 22 and hit a career-best .467 against Arizona on Oct. 3.
UCLA's Mac May was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year and Zoe Fleck was selected the Libero of the Year. Washington's Ella May Powell earned Setter of the Year, while UCLA's Mike Sealy and Washington State's Jen Greeny were Co-Coaches of the Year.
Making its 40th appearance, Stanford opens the NCAA Tournament on Friday against Iowa State in Minneapolis at 2:30 p.m. PT.