WATCH | Volleyball Prepares for 2014 NCAA Tournament
Leading Santa Clara to the school's 15th NCAA tournament, including the 12th under Bronco head coach Jon Wallace, seven Santa Clara volleyball players were honored by the West Coast Conference on Tuesday, including one on the All-WCC First Team and another as the WCC Freshman of the Year.
Sophomore Nikki Hess was named to the WCC First Team. It is the 16th time in the last 17 years the Broncos have placed at least one player on the first team. Freshman Kirsten Mead, a Palo Alto native, was honored as the WCC Freshman of the Year and joined a trio of Bronco rookies on the All-WCC Freshman list. In addition, four players were named to the All-WCC Honorable Mention team: senior Taylor Milton, sophomore Sabrina Clayton, junior Danielle Rottman and Mead. Joining Mead on the WCC All-Freshman team were Kaity Edwards and Natasha Calkins.
Hess leads the team with 3.72 kpg, good enough for third in the WCC. She has collected a team-high 398 kills. Hess is third on the team with 2.17 dpg. She is tops with 11 block solos. She collected double figure kills in 22 matches this season, including a career-high 22 kills twice. She also had nine double-doubles (kills, digs). She was named to the WCC All-Freshman team last season.
"Nikki has worked extremely hard going back to last January to put herself in this position as one of the elite players in this conference," said Wallace. "She has put the time in with Sparta and is an avid film watcher of both the opponent and herself. She has a great competitive spirit that goes back to her success at Horizon High School in Arizona."
Mead is second in the country with 11.99 apg, just behind Stanford setter Madi Bugg (12.02 apg). Mead is third on the team with .34 sapg and she also collects 1.75 dpg.
She is the fourth Bronco under Wallace to be named WCC Freshman of the Year, joining Becky Potter (2000), Annalisa Muratore (2004), Brittany Lowe (2005) and Krista Kelley (2007).
"It says a lot to have two of the top setters in the country in the south Bay Area with Stanford's Madi Bugg and Kirsten 1-2 in assists per game nationally," Wallace said. "We knew Kirsten was a great talent when we recruited her and we are all pleased to see her daily improvement. She has had a lot of help with the leadership of Taylor Milton and Danielle Rottman. Her athleticism and consistency are what make her really special. Her work ethic and and her strong desire to improve made her the best freshman in the league this year."
Milton is third on the team with 2.95 kpg, collecting 322 kills. A three-time All-WCC Honorable Mention selection, Milton is fourth on the team with .27 sapg and second with 2.22 dpg. During her four-year Bronco career she has tallied 1,107 kills, 95 aces, 188 blocks and 918 digs.
"I can't say enough about the job Taylor has done this year for this team," Wallace expressed. "She is playing her best volleyball of her career at Santa Clara right now and it shows every day. A lot of what Taylor does well goes unnoticed, but she is key to our success this year. She has the ability to impact the game from a passing, serving and defensive standpoint and of course as an attacker. We will miss her next year."
Clayton is second on the team with 2.32 kpg, collecting a second-best 362 kills. She is the top server in the WCC with .45 sapg, good enough for No. 27 nationally. The team is No. 3 nationally with 1.86 sapg.
"Sabrina's growth over the last year has been tremendous," Wallace said. "She has gone from a three-rotation player to a six-rotation player. She is one of the best servers in the nation. She is one our most consistent players day in and day out."
Rottman leads the WCC with 4.75 dpg as the libero and is one of the top defensive players in the conference. She is second on the team with .34 sapg and fourth in the WCC.
"Dani is one of the best defensive players in the conference, leading everyone in digs this year. She has given our team the consistency we needed as both a passer and a server," Wallace said. "She fights hard on every point and takes it personally when she can't reach a ball."
Edwards and Calkins lead the team in the middle this year and matched Mead on the All-Freshman team. Edwards is third on the team in hitting at .319 and she scores 1.95 kpg. Edwards is second on the team with .85 bpg. Calkins is second on the team in hitting at .345 and she collects 1.37 kpg. Calkins is third on the team with .79 bpg.
"I am really happy for Kaity and Natasha," said Wallace. "They both had great years and had a strong impact on our team in their WCC play this year. I am really looking forward to continuing to watch them grow over the next three years."
