GNAC release, with complete list (PDF)

SEATTLE – Sarah Risser has done it again. So has coach Chris Johnson. And so too has a Seattle Pacific volleyball freshman.

Senior outside hitter Risser has been named to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference first-team volleyball all-stars for the second year in a row. She was one of three SPU players to earn first-team honors, joined by junior outside hitter Lindsey Wodrich and freshman middle blocker Nikki Lowell.

But Lowell didn't stop there, she was named the GNAC's Freshman of the Year. That is the third time in the past four seasons a Falcon has claimed that honor. Current senior setter Joelle Perez won it in 2007, and current junior libero Anna Herold claimed it in 2008.

Johnson, who took a team pegged for third place in the preseason coaches poll all the way to a share of the conference championship, was named co-Coach of the Year, along with Western Washington's Diane Flick. Western, the preseason conference favorite, tied SPU for third place. Johnson's award was his third. He is now in his sixth year at the Falcons' helm.

Seattle Pacific also had three players chosen for the second team: Herold, junior opposite Paige Hoffman, and sophomore setter Shelby Swanson.

The six players named represent the most the Falcons have placed on any all-conference team, whether in the GNAC or its previous homes in the Pacific West, Continental Divide or NAIA District 1. The program's previous high was four in 1996 and 2000.

“I certainly wouldn't have said (at the start of the year) that we were going to get six named to the all-conference team. But I would have looked at each one of them individually and said, 'Yes, that person has that potential,'” Johnson said. “They're all very well deserved. They're playing as a team, for sure. With the way we played in conference, they're all playing well, and it's good to see them earn that recognition.”

From the start of the season, Risser (Santa Barbara, Calif.) has wielded a huge hammer for SPU. Heading into this week's NCAA West Regionals at San Bernardino, Calif., Risser has put down a team-leading 326 kills and has 240 digs, the third-highest total on the team, and leads the Falcons with 34 service aces. She has 10 kill-dig double-doubles for the season and just hit a career-high .462 in the regular-season finale at Montana State Billings last Saturday. Risser recently passed the 1,000-point mark for her career.

Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) is SPU's other weapon on the outside, with an average of 3.15 kills per game. She has the second-highest dig total on the squad with 256 and came up with a career-high three solo blocks last Saturday at Billings. Wodrich was named MVP of the season-opening Seawolf Spike tournament after hitting a career-best .455 in the final match against then-No. 21 Sonoma State. She slammed a career-high 26 kills in a three-game homecourt sweep of Central Washington on Oct. 16, and has been named GNAC Player of the Week twice.

Lowell transferred to Seattle Pacific from Gonzaga and immediately became an impact player. She is hitting a GNAC-leading .389 heading into the NCAAs, well above the single-season school record of .370. On Sept. 27 against Montana State Billings, Lowell hit a single-match SPU record .833 (10 kills, 0 errors on 12 attacks). She has hit .500 or better in eight of 26 matches so far. She also is the Falcons' leader in blocks with 85, including 15 solos.

“Freshman of the Year and making first team as a freshman – that's a real accomplishment,” Johnson said. “It's nice to have people coming into the program who can contribute in a real way right away.”

Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS) earned a spot on the second team for the second year in a row. On Oct. 23 at home against Western Oregon, Herold broke the all-time SPU career record for digs. The old mark, set over four seasons by Torii Mount, was 1,552. Herold heads into the postseason with 1,646. She is averaging 5.27 digs per game this fall.

Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.) has become nearly unstoppable on the right side for the Falcons. She his hitting .315, the fourth-best mark in the conference, and has eclipsed her single-match career high for hitting on three occasions this season. She came into the year with a best of .476, but since the start of the season has hit .500 in one match, then .625 in another, and finally .647 last Saturday at Billings. She has played five error-free matches on the attack. She also is among the team leaders in digs (169) and blocks (57).

Swanson has become one of the best setters not only in the GNAC, but in all of NCAA Division II. She leads the conference with an average of 11.48 assists per game, a mark which also ranks No. 7 in D-2. With 987 assists, she is on the brink of recording SPU's first 1,000-assist season since 2007 when current senior Perez racked up 1,118. Swanson also has become a solid player defensively at the net with 29 blocks – which is 29 more than she had last year as a freshman.

Johnson guided SPU to its third conference crown since taking the reins in 2005. The Falcons won their first 16 matches, easily beating the previous best start of 7-0. After not even receiving any votes in the national preseason poll, they have been ranked as high as No. 12. (They're currently No. 14.) On Sept. 28, Johnson notched his 100th career coaching victory – all of them at Seattle Pacific – and got it at home with a sweep of defending GNAC champ Alaska Anchorage.

“It's nice to get that recognition. (But) that's really a credit not just to myself, but to the entire coaching staff and to the players. They're the ones putting in the most work and getting it done on the court, and I think that award is theirs as much as anyone else's.”


ALL-GNAC VOLLEYBALL
Player of the Year – Emily Jepsen, Western Washington
Freshman of the Year – Nikki Lowell, Seattle Pacific
Newcomer of the Year – Tereza Bendlova, Alaska Fairbanks
Co-Coach of the Year – Chris Johnson, Seattle Pacific, and Diane Flick, Western Washington

FIRST TEAM
Outside hitter – Kady Try, Central Washington
Outside hitter – Sarah Risser, Seattle Pacific
Outside hitter – Lindsey Wodrich, Seattle Pacific
Middle blocker – Emily Jepsen, Western Washington
Middle blocker – Nikki Lowell, Seattle Pacific
Middle blocker – Cortney Lundberg, Alaska Anchorage
Setter – Kari Rice, Western Washington
Libero – Allison Gotz, Western Washington

SECOND TEAM
(SPU selections only)
Outside hitter/opposite – Paige Hoffman
Setter – Shelby Swanson
Libero – Anna Herold