Sophomore Madeleine Gates (left) and senior Sarah Sponcil were among four Bruins on the AVCA All-Region Teams.
Photo by: Han Duong (herewegobru.com)
Four Bruins Earn AVCA All-Region Accolades
December 05, 2017 | Women's Volleyball
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LEXINGTON, Ky. -ย Four Bruins were named to the AVCA Pacific South All-Region Teams on Tuesday, as senior Sarah Sponcil and sophomore Madeleine Gates earned First Team honors, while senior Reilyย Buechler and junior Zana Muno picked up Honorable Mention accolades.
Sponcilย was recognized on the AVCA All-Region Team for the fourth consecutive season, earning First Team honors at Loyola Marymount as a junior and sophomore and being named Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year in 2014. Buechlerย picked up her second consecutive All-Region Honorable Mention plaudit.ย Gates and Muno each earned their first All-Region honors.
Gates, who was also named All-Pac-12 Conference First Team, leads the Bruins with 1.22 blocks per set and a .349 hitting percentage, adding 2.87 kills per set, which is third on the team. The sophomore has 15 double-figure kills contests this season,ย reaching a career high with 22 at Stanford on Nov. 16, and has surpassed the .400 hitting plateau in 11 matches. On the defensive end, Gates has a team-best 15 matches with at least five blocks, recording a personal-best 10 in the season opener against San Diego (Aug. 25). She was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 6 after posting 13 blocks to go with 24 kills in a pair of wins over Arizona and Arizona State. Gates is fifth among conference players in hitting and seventh in bps.
Sponcil, an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention winner, is tops on the team with 11.25 assists per set and 19 double-doubles, while also ranking second with 3.35 digs per set to go with 0.54 blocks per set, 18 service aces and 52 kills. She enters the Regional round with double-doubles in 11 of her last 13 matches, including twice last weekend,ย producing career highs in assists (63) and digs (25) in a win at Colorado on Oct. 21. Sponcil is second in the Pac-12 in aps and ninth in dps, while also ranking 20th nationally in aps.
Buechler, who earned All-Pac-12 First Team plaudits, leads the Bruins with 3.54 kills per set, is second with 29 service aces and third with 2.63 digs per set, adding 0.45 blocks per set. The senior is first on the squad with 24 double-figure kills contests and second with 14 double-doubles. Buechler has reached the 20-kill mark five times this season, tying a career high with 26 in the NCAA Second Round against Cal Poly last Saturday. In the First Round, the senior posted a personal-best seven aces. On Nov. 25 in her fourth straight win at USC, Buechler became the 12th Bruin to reach the 1,500-kill mark. She is eighth among Pac-12 players in kps and points per set (4.08).
Munoย leads the team with 4.97 digs per set, ranking second among Pac-12 liberos and 41st nationally.ย The junior book-ended the regular season with Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week awards on Aug. 28 and Nov. 27. In the final week of the regular season, Muno became the 24th Bruin to surpass the 1,000-dig mark.ย In the Bruins' last match versus Cal Poly, Munoย recorded 26 digs and served a career-best four aces. She has 25 double-figure digs contests and has reached the 20-dig mark 15 times, posting a career-high 34 at Hawai'i on Aug. 27.
The 15th-seeded Bruins will take on #2-seed Florida in Gainesville in the NCAA Regional Semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET. The match will air on ESPNU.
Players Mentioned
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