UCLA Women's Volleyball Conference Players of the Year
Five members of the UCLA volleyball program have garnered a total of seven Pac-10/12 Player of the Year awards. Most recently in Fall 2021, Mac May became the second Bruin in program history to win the award multiple times. She joined Daiva Tomkus who won UCLA's first two conference player of the year awards in back-to-back seasons in 1988 and 1989. UCLA went on a remarkable run in the early 1990s, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 1990 and 1991 and recording runner-up finishes in 1992 and 1994. Leading the Bruins during that stretch was a trio of stars who three-peated the Pac-10 Player of the Award: Natalie Williams in 1992, Julie Bremner in 1993 and Annett Buckner in 1994.
Award Winners
Fall 2021: Mac May
2019: Mac May
1994: Annett Buckner
1993: Julie Bremner
1992: Natalie Williams
1989: Daiva Tomkus
1988: Daiva Tomkus
Fall 2021: Mac May – Graduate – 6-3 – Outside Hitter/Opposite – Dubuque, Iowa (Wahlert Catholic HS)
May was named an AVCA First Team All-American, Pac-12 Player of the Year, a Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American, All-Pac-12 First Team and AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team, leading the Bruins with 558 kills (4.85 kills per set) and 45 aces (0.39 aces per set) in 115 sets played … became the seventh player in conference history to win two player of the year awards ... ranked second in the Pac-12 and ninth in the nation in kills per set … led the Pac-12 with 12 20-kill performances … eclipsed 30 kills twice with 30 at San Diego on Sept. 9 and 39 at Washington State on Oct. 3 for the second-most kills ever in a single-match by a Bruin and most since Natalie Williams set the program record with 43 kills versus Hawai’i in Sept. 1991 … the 39 kills were the most kills by a Bruin in a conference match in program history … the 39 kills marked the third highest kill total by an athlete in a match this season, and most by a Power 5 athlete … also scored 20 kills at Washington on Oct. 1 to finish the weekend with 59 kills, earning her Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors … tied the program record for aces in a single match with eight versus Arizona on Nov. 21, in just three sets … followed that performance with the second-most aces in a single match in her career with six versus California on Nov. 24 … led the Bruins in kills in 25 matches and posted a team-high nine double-doubles, scoring double-figure kills in 29 of UCLA’s 31 contests … recorded back-to-back 20-kill matches in the NCAA First and Second Rounds, including 25 kills, eight digs and three aces versus UCF on Dec. 4 … closed out her career with a match-high 17 kills at a .351 clip at Wisconsin in the NCAA Regional Semifinals, leading the Bruins in kills in the final 17 matches of the season … named to the Madison All-Region Team … honored as a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and a Senior CLASS Award Second Team member.
2019: Mac May – Graduate – 6-3 – Outside Hitter/Opposite – Dubuque, Iowa (Wahlert Catholic HS)
May was named an AVCA and VolleyballMag.com Second Team All-American, the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year, AVCA Pacific South All-Region First Team and All-Pac-12 First Team ... led the team with 4.83 kills per set and 36 service aces, and was third with 2.58 digs per set ... ranked ninth in the nation in points per set (5.47) and second among Pac-12 players, tied for ninth in the country in kps (third in the Pac-12), first in the conference in service aces per set (0.35) and 39th in the nation in attacks per set (11.25) ... had 27 double-figure kills matches and nine contests with at least 20 ... was second on the team with eight double-doubles ... led the Bruins in kills in 25 matches ... had at least three aces in a match five times ... tallied 15 kills and nine digs in the NCAA Second Round at No. 5 Wisconsin (Dec. 7) ... had 20 kills and only one hitting error (.487 percentage) with nine digs in the NCAA First Round versus Notre Dame on Dec. 6 ... was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in 2019 on Dec. 2 ... recorded 17 kills, 14 digs and three aces at USC on Nov. 29, surpassing the 100-career ace plateau, and 21 kills and eight digs at Arizona on Nov. 27 ... had 20 kills and six digs against Oregon State (Nov. 24) and 22 kills, eight digs, four blocks and three aces versus Oregon (Nov. 22) ... had 17 kills, eight digs and three aces against No. 16 Utah (Nov. 9) and 20 kills versus Colorado (Nov. 7), surpassing the 1,000-career kill mark against the Utes ... produced 20 kills and eight digs at No. 22 Washington State on Nov. 1 ... was named AVCA National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after the Bruins’ victories over No. 2 Stanford (Oct. 25) and No. 15 California (Oct. 27) ... had 21 kills and nine digs versus the Golden Bears and 12 kills and 10 digs against the Cardinal ... recorded 19 kills and 11 digs at Oregon State on Oct. 20 and 22 kills at Oregon on Oct. 18 ... posted 18 kills and only one hitting error in 33 attempts for a .515 hitting percentage at Colorado (Oct. 13), adding seven digs ... registered a career-high 29 kills against No. 8 Washington on Oct. 6, adding 15 digs and a .434 percentage ... added 10 kills and 12 digs versus No. 24 Washington State on Oct. 4 ... had 15 kills and only one error in 31 attempts against Arizona State (Sept. 29) for a .452 percentage, adding eight digs and tying a career high with four aces ... recorded 12 kills and 15 digs at UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 18 ... was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Volleyball Challenge ... tallied double-doubles in each of the first two matches in Honolulu, recording 18 kills, 10 digs and two aces against West Virginia on Sept. 13 and 16 kills and 13 digs versus Utah Valley (Sept. 12) ... was named the MVP of the Long Beach State Mizuno Classic ... was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Husker Invitational ... invited to train with the U.S. Women's National Team in March 2020 (canceled due to COVID-19).
1994: Annett Buckner – Senior – 5-11 – Outside Hitter – Long Beach, Calif. (St. Anthony HS)
Buckner was an AVCA First Team All-American in her senior season ... led the Pac-10 in kill average (4.84) and ranked ninth in both hitting percentage (.295) and service aces (0.32) ... hit for a .312 clip in Pac-10 conference matches ... helped UCLA to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Championship match versus Stanford ... finished her collegiate career ranked sixth on UCLA's all-time kills list (1630) and digs list (1047) ... set UCLA's single-season record for most kills (639).
1993: Julie Bremner – Senior – 5-10 – Setter – Lisle, Ill. (St. Francis HS)
Bremner was an AVCA First Team All-American in her senior season ... led the conference with 1575 assists in her senior season, averaging 13.46 assists per set.
1992: Natalie Williams – Senior – 6-1 – Outside Hitter – Taylorsville, Utah (Taylorsville HS)
Williams won Pac-10 Player of the Year and Volleyball Monthly Player of the Year honors for the second time in her senior season ... named an AVCA First Team All-American for the third consecutive season ... became UCLA's first four-time All-American ... led UCLA with 493 kills and a .416 hitting percentage and ranked second with 31 aces ... tallied 241 digs.
1989: Daiva Tomkus – Senior – 6-1 – Middle Blocker – West Hills, Calif. (Chaminade Prep)
Tomkus became the Bruins' first player to earn AVCA First Team All-American honors for three seasons and first player in conference history to win two player of the year awards ... finished her career ranked first on UCLA's total blocks (575) and block assists (463) lists and ranked fifth on UCLA's career kills list (1389) ... played in all 33 matches ... led the Bruins in kills (413) and block assists (154) and ranked second on the team in digs (274) ... owned a 3.50 kills per set average and 1.51 blocks per set average.
1988: Daiva Tomkus – Junior – 6-1 – Middle Blocker – West Hills, Calif. (Chaminade Prep)
Tomkus became the first to earn Conference Player of the Year honors ... won NCAA All-American honors for the second year ... her .387 hitting percentage was the second best all-time at UCLA ... had double figure kills in a school record 30 of 34 matches in which she saw action ... led the team in kills (452), hitting percentage, service aces (66), block solos (38), block assists (126) ... now hit over .357 in 24 matches last season ... led the team in blocking in 24 matches ... had a high of six aces versus Oregon State ... led the Pac-10 in hitting percentage and ace average (0.64) ... finished 16th nationally in hitting percentage.
Award Winners
Fall 2021: Mac May
2019: Mac May
1994: Annett Buckner
1993: Julie Bremner
1992: Natalie Williams
1989: Daiva Tomkus
1988: Daiva Tomkus
Fall 2021: Mac May – Graduate – 6-3 – Outside Hitter/Opposite – Dubuque, Iowa (Wahlert Catholic HS)
May was named an AVCA First Team All-American, Pac-12 Player of the Year, a Volleyball Magazine First Team All-American, All-Pac-12 First Team and AVCA Pacific South All-Region Team, leading the Bruins with 558 kills (4.85 kills per set) and 45 aces (0.39 aces per set) in 115 sets played … became the seventh player in conference history to win two player of the year awards ... ranked second in the Pac-12 and ninth in the nation in kills per set … led the Pac-12 with 12 20-kill performances … eclipsed 30 kills twice with 30 at San Diego on Sept. 9 and 39 at Washington State on Oct. 3 for the second-most kills ever in a single-match by a Bruin and most since Natalie Williams set the program record with 43 kills versus Hawai’i in Sept. 1991 … the 39 kills were the most kills by a Bruin in a conference match in program history … the 39 kills marked the third highest kill total by an athlete in a match this season, and most by a Power 5 athlete … also scored 20 kills at Washington on Oct. 1 to finish the weekend with 59 kills, earning her Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors … tied the program record for aces in a single match with eight versus Arizona on Nov. 21, in just three sets … followed that performance with the second-most aces in a single match in her career with six versus California on Nov. 24 … led the Bruins in kills in 25 matches and posted a team-high nine double-doubles, scoring double-figure kills in 29 of UCLA’s 31 contests … recorded back-to-back 20-kill matches in the NCAA First and Second Rounds, including 25 kills, eight digs and three aces versus UCF on Dec. 4 … closed out her career with a match-high 17 kills at a .351 clip at Wisconsin in the NCAA Regional Semifinals, leading the Bruins in kills in the final 17 matches of the season … named to the Madison All-Region Team … honored as a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and a Senior CLASS Award Second Team member.
2019: Mac May – Graduate – 6-3 – Outside Hitter/Opposite – Dubuque, Iowa (Wahlert Catholic HS)
May was named an AVCA and VolleyballMag.com Second Team All-American, the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year, AVCA Pacific South All-Region First Team and All-Pac-12 First Team ... led the team with 4.83 kills per set and 36 service aces, and was third with 2.58 digs per set ... ranked ninth in the nation in points per set (5.47) and second among Pac-12 players, tied for ninth in the country in kps (third in the Pac-12), first in the conference in service aces per set (0.35) and 39th in the nation in attacks per set (11.25) ... had 27 double-figure kills matches and nine contests with at least 20 ... was second on the team with eight double-doubles ... led the Bruins in kills in 25 matches ... had at least three aces in a match five times ... tallied 15 kills and nine digs in the NCAA Second Round at No. 5 Wisconsin (Dec. 7) ... had 20 kills and only one hitting error (.487 percentage) with nine digs in the NCAA First Round versus Notre Dame on Dec. 6 ... was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in 2019 on Dec. 2 ... recorded 17 kills, 14 digs and three aces at USC on Nov. 29, surpassing the 100-career ace plateau, and 21 kills and eight digs at Arizona on Nov. 27 ... had 20 kills and six digs against Oregon State (Nov. 24) and 22 kills, eight digs, four blocks and three aces versus Oregon (Nov. 22) ... had 17 kills, eight digs and three aces against No. 16 Utah (Nov. 9) and 20 kills versus Colorado (Nov. 7), surpassing the 1,000-career kill mark against the Utes ... produced 20 kills and eight digs at No. 22 Washington State on Nov. 1 ... was named AVCA National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after the Bruins’ victories over No. 2 Stanford (Oct. 25) and No. 15 California (Oct. 27) ... had 21 kills and nine digs versus the Golden Bears and 12 kills and 10 digs against the Cardinal ... recorded 19 kills and 11 digs at Oregon State on Oct. 20 and 22 kills at Oregon on Oct. 18 ... posted 18 kills and only one hitting error in 33 attempts for a .515 hitting percentage at Colorado (Oct. 13), adding seven digs ... registered a career-high 29 kills against No. 8 Washington on Oct. 6, adding 15 digs and a .434 percentage ... added 10 kills and 12 digs versus No. 24 Washington State on Oct. 4 ... had 15 kills and only one error in 31 attempts against Arizona State (Sept. 29) for a .452 percentage, adding eight digs and tying a career high with four aces ... recorded 12 kills and 15 digs at UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 18 ... was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Volleyball Challenge ... tallied double-doubles in each of the first two matches in Honolulu, recording 18 kills, 10 digs and two aces against West Virginia on Sept. 13 and 16 kills and 13 digs versus Utah Valley (Sept. 12) ... was named the MVP of the Long Beach State Mizuno Classic ... was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Husker Invitational ... invited to train with the U.S. Women's National Team in March 2020 (canceled due to COVID-19).
1994: Annett Buckner – Senior – 5-11 – Outside Hitter – Long Beach, Calif. (St. Anthony HS)
Buckner was an AVCA First Team All-American in her senior season ... led the Pac-10 in kill average (4.84) and ranked ninth in both hitting percentage (.295) and service aces (0.32) ... hit for a .312 clip in Pac-10 conference matches ... helped UCLA to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Championship match versus Stanford ... finished her collegiate career ranked sixth on UCLA's all-time kills list (1630) and digs list (1047) ... set UCLA's single-season record for most kills (639).
1993: Julie Bremner – Senior – 5-10 – Setter – Lisle, Ill. (St. Francis HS)
Bremner was an AVCA First Team All-American in her senior season ... led the conference with 1575 assists in her senior season, averaging 13.46 assists per set.
1992: Natalie Williams – Senior – 6-1 – Outside Hitter – Taylorsville, Utah (Taylorsville HS)
Williams won Pac-10 Player of the Year and Volleyball Monthly Player of the Year honors for the second time in her senior season ... named an AVCA First Team All-American for the third consecutive season ... became UCLA's first four-time All-American ... led UCLA with 493 kills and a .416 hitting percentage and ranked second with 31 aces ... tallied 241 digs.
1989: Daiva Tomkus – Senior – 6-1 – Middle Blocker – West Hills, Calif. (Chaminade Prep)
Tomkus became the Bruins' first player to earn AVCA First Team All-American honors for three seasons and first player in conference history to win two player of the year awards ... finished her career ranked first on UCLA's total blocks (575) and block assists (463) lists and ranked fifth on UCLA's career kills list (1389) ... played in all 33 matches ... led the Bruins in kills (413) and block assists (154) and ranked second on the team in digs (274) ... owned a 3.50 kills per set average and 1.51 blocks per set average.
1988: Daiva Tomkus – Junior – 6-1 – Middle Blocker – West Hills, Calif. (Chaminade Prep)
Tomkus became the first to earn Conference Player of the Year honors ... won NCAA All-American honors for the second year ... her .387 hitting percentage was the second best all-time at UCLA ... had double figure kills in a school record 30 of 34 matches in which she saw action ... led the team in kills (452), hitting percentage, service aces (66), block solos (38), block assists (126) ... now hit over .357 in 24 matches last season ... led the team in blocking in 24 matches ... had a high of six aces versus Oregon State ... led the Pac-10 in hitting percentage and ace average (0.64) ... finished 16th nationally in hitting percentage.