BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the second consecutive season, Western Washington University senior outside hitter Abby Phelps has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year, highlighting the Vikings five selections to the 2018 GNAC Volleyball All-Conference Team.

 

Joining Phelps as First Team All-GNAC selections include senior middle Michaela Hall, senior setter Brette Boesel and junior middle Kayleigh Harper. Senior libero Aubrey Stephens was also named All-GNAC  as an honorable mention selection.

 

WWU head coach Diane Flick-Williams was also named the GNAC Coach of the Year, the 10^th time in 19 years leading the Vikings she has earned the top coaching honor in the conference.

"This is a pretty special group of people who have made a huge impact on this program so they deserve all the recognition they are getting," said Flick-Williams. "Their day-to-day work ethic since they stepped foot in this program has been nothing but incredible. The best part of them is how they make people around them better and so we have been very fortunate to have them not only for their individual talents, but also for what amazing teammates and leaders they are."

Phelps becomes the second player in GNAC history to win the Player of the Year twice in a career and in back-to-back years, joining former Viking setter Liz Bishop in 2002 and 2003. She is also the second player in GNAC history to be a four-time First Team all-conference selection, joining Alaska Anchorage outside hitter Julia Mackey (2012-15).

 

So far during her senior season for the GNAC Champion Vikings, Phelps leads the conference with 23 double-doubles, and leads the league averaging 3.91 kills per set. Heading into the postseason, she already holds the WWU and GNAC record for career kills (1,534) and points (1752.0).

 

"I'm so proud of Abby for so many reasons. The records she broke, the numbers she has put up and leader that she is speaks volumes about her, but it's the intangibles that make her so special," said Flick-Williams. "Every ball person in every venue has received a smile and a thank you from her. Every kid she coaches in club has received her undivided attention. Every one of her teammates knows she gives the credit to them because she makes a point to tell them all the time. Abby is a great competitor, and an even better person and I'm so proud of her."

Harper becomes a three-time First Team All-GNAC selection, recording a dominating junior season with league-leading marks in hitting percentage (.397) and blocks (1.43 per set). Harper is 5^th in WWU history and 7^th in GNAC history with 426 career blocks, a 1.31 blocks per set average.

Hall becomes a two-time First Team All-GNAC selection, averaging 2.74 kills per set with a .364 attack percentage and 1.14 blocks per set. She ranks among GNAC leaders in hitting percentage (3^rd), blocks (6^th), points (11^th) and kills (15^th). In the GNAC record book she is listed 10^th with 414 career blocks, the 7^th-best mark in WWU history.

Boesel was a was named First Team All-GNAC for the second consecutive season, ranking 2^nd in the conference averaging 11.85 assists per set. She also averaged 0.22 service aces per set (21 aces) and 1.93 digs per set while recording three double-doubles (assists-digs). 
 

 

Stephens earned honorable mention acclaim for the second consecutive season while ranking 4^th in the conference with 4.96 digs per set. She recorded double-digits in digs in 27 of 28 matches. For her career, Stephens is 10^th in WWU history with 1,212 and 14^th in GNAC history averaging 4.77 digs per set.

 

Flick-Williams was selected as the GNAC Coach of the Year for the 10^th time in her 19 seasons at the helm of the WWU program. She is the back-to-back winner of the award, with WWU going 39-1 over the last two seasons in GNAC play, and also earned top coaching honors in 2001-2003, 2006 (co), 2007, 2010 (co), 2012 and 2013 (co).

 

The Vikings head into their seventh consecutive NCAA II Championships appearances with a 25-3 record and are the No. 1 seed in the West Regional that will be hosted in Carver Gym starting with four quarterfinal matches on Thursday. WWU carries a school-record 25-match winning streak into Thursday's match vs. No. 8 seed Cal State East Bay.

 

The complete 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Volleyball All-Conference Team is as follows:

 

 

Here is the full listing of GNAC Volleyball Players of the Year, with the 10 WWU selections:

 

 

The Vikings are the No. 1 seed in the West Region and will host the eight-team West Regional in the 2018 NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships starting this Thursday in Carver Gym. WWU will play No. 8 seed Cal State East Bay in the 7:30 pm match Thursday evening in Carver Gym, the final of four matches on Thursday. Two semifinal matches will be held on Friday (5 & 7:30 pm) and the West Regional Championship will be played Saturday night at 7 pm. Ticket information and general tournament information is available by visiting WWUVikings.com/NCAAVB.

 

 

The Vikings (25-3) head into their seventh consecutive NCAA Division II Championship, and 13^th appearance in program history, with a 25-match winning streak. After opening the season 0-3 with all three losses to ranked opponents, WWU has recorded 25 consecutive wins to set the program record for the third-longest active winning streak in NCAA II behind Spring Hill (28) and Wheeling Jesuit (26).

 

Fans can follow WWU Volleyball online at WWUVikings.com/VB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUVolleyball), Instagram (@WWUVB) and Facebook (@WWUVolleyball).

 

The WWU volleyball program has risen to elite level by advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in seven consecutive seasons and 13 of the last 18 dating back to the 2001 season. The winner of nine Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, WWU has won back-to-back conference championships with a combined 39-1 record in league play over the last two seasons and a 20-0 record in 2018. Led by 19-year head coach Diane Flick-Williams, the Vikings have posted a 170-36 record over the last seven seasons (.825 winning percentage) and have played in the NCAA II West Region championship match each of the last three seasons (2015, 2016, 2017). WWU played for the NCAA II national championship in 2007 finishing 2^nd in the nation and advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in 2015.

 

-- @WWUVolleyball --