Sept. 6, 2005

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The Santa Clara women's volleyball team's successful first week got even sweeter Monday as junior outside hitter Kim McGiven was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week.

McGiven registered 73 kills, 39 digs, and hit .399 in the Broncos' three victories last week, including two wins on Saturday to capture the Holiday Inn Sunset Classic title in Irvine. She also led all WCC players for the week with a 6.64 kills per game average. The 3-0 start also led to Santa Clara's return to the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 rankings, debuting at No. 25.

"Kim has worked extremely hard to have success at this level and it's great to see her hard work paying off," said head coach Jon Wallace. "I also feel that her success has a lot to do with the other girls around her, the strong passing and middle attack has allowed her to be open on the outside. But what's above and beyond is, to give credit to Kim, she wants the ball in all the big moments and she came up with the critical kills for the team."

One of those critical kills came Saturday night at match point against UC Irvine. McGiven's kill gave the Broncos a 30-28 match-clinching victory in Game four and was her 34th kill of the night, setting a new Santa Clara record for kills in a four-game match. Her stellar performance on the court, which included leading all players in kills over the weekend, also earned McGiven All-Tournament team honors.

"I think that receiving the [WCC Player of the Week] award is a reflection of how hard the team has played," said McGiven. "I think that the team has been playing very hard and getting better every match and we deserve to be back in the Top 25. Every match has been a battle and the team has really been fighting together. Our wins are the result of every girl contributing everything they have give."

Santa Clara returns to action this weekend as they host Fresno State, UC Santa Barbara and Arizona in the Bronco Invitational at the Leavey Center From Thursday-Saturday. UCSB and Arizona kick off tournament action Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. followed by the Broncos taking on Fresno State at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the Bronco Invitational are available by calling (408) 554-4660 or by clicking here.