EDINBURG, Texas – A trio of Utah Valley University volleyball players received Western Athletic Conference postseason accolades on Wednesday evening at the pre-tournament banquet in Edinburg, Texas.
 
Seniors Madison Dennison and Lexi Thompson led the way by both earning first team all-conference honors, while freshman Kristen Allred was named to the league's all-freshman team.
 
"This is a great honor for our girls as far as their accomplishments, and shows the respect that they've earned from the coaches," head UVU coach Sam Atoa said. "The hard thing about these awards is that there are certain others that get left off that are deserving. But I'm very happy for these girls for what they have done and for their pursuit towards excellence. I'm proud of them."
 
Dennison, a senior middle blocker from Pleasant Grove, Utah, received first team all-WAC honors for the second consecutive season after leading the Wolverines and the WAC in both blocking and hitting on the year. She not only leads the league at the net but also the entire nation with a total of 177 blocks on the year, as well as ranks third currently nationally in blocks per set with a 1.64 average. The three-time WAC Player of the Week honoree on the season also leads the league with a .312 hitting percentage and ranks second on the team offensively with a 2.76 kills per set clip. 
 
After being named to the league's second team a season ago, Thompson earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive year after being tabbed first team all-WAC on Wednesday. The senior outside hitter from South Jordan, Utah, led UVU on the season offensively with a total of 366 kills and a 3.39 kills per set average. She also ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the WAC this season in kills and points (3.73). Thompson has also tallied a solid .226 attack percentage on the year, as well as a 1.94 digs per set average, 39 total blocks, and 15 service aces.
 
Allred, a true freshman from Mapleton, Utah, earned all-freshmen team accolades in 2017 after finishing third in kills for the Wolverines on the year with a total of 202 and a 2.43 per set average. She also recorded a 1.94 digs per set clip as well as a 0.54 blocks per set average. The graduate of Maple Mountain High School finished second on the team from the service line with 19 total aces, while also adding 15 assists and a .173 hitting percentage.
 
Dennison, Thompson, Allred and the Wolverines will officially open WAC Tournament play on Thursday against UMKC at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg. The third-seeded Wolverines and sixth-seeded Kangaroos will do battle that evening at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT and the match can be watched live on the WAC Digital Network. The winner of that contest will then advance to the tournament's semifinal round against the two seed and host UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros on Friday at 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT.   

2017 WAC Volleyball Postseason Award Winners

First Team	School	Yr.	Pos.
Tatyana Battle	NM State	Jr.	OH
Madison Dennison	Utah Valley	Sr.	MB
Ragni Steen Knudsen	UT Rio Grande Valley	Jr.	OH
Katarina Marinkovic	Seattle U	So.	OH
Bojana Mitrovic	UT Rio Grande Valley	Sr.	RS
Lexi Thompson	Utah Valley	Sr.	OH
Kassandra Tohm	NM State	Sr.	OH

 

Second Team	School	Yr.	Pos.
Alicia Harrington	Kansas City	So.	OH
Shae Harris	Seattle U	Jr.	S
Sydney Haynes	CSU Bakersfield	Sr.	MH
Haylee Roberts	CSU Bakersfield	Sr.	MB
Ariadnne Sierra	NM State	Sr.	L
Barbara Silva	UT Rio Grande Valley	So.	MB/OH
Sasha-Lee Thomas	NM State	Sr.	MB

 

All-Freshmen Team	School	Pos.
Kristen Allred	Utah Valley	OH
Teagan DeFalco	Grand Canyon	OH
Claire Kovensky	Grand Canyon	OH
Tijana Milojevic	Seattle U	L
Lia Mosher	NM State	MB
Anna Palmer	Seattle U	OH/RS

 
WAC Player of the Year: Kassandra Tohm, NM State
WAC Libero of the Year: Ariadnne Sierra, NM State
WAC Setter of the Year: Shae Harris, Seattle U
WAC Freshman of the Year: Claire Kovensky, Grand Canyon
WAC Coach of the Year: Mike Jordan, NM State