For the first time this season, all three Big West volleyball weekly awards went to Cal Poly.
Junior opposite hitter Torrey Van Winden received Player of the Week honors for the fourth time this season, senior libero Katherine Brouker earned Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this season and freshman setter Avalon DeNecochea was named Freshman of the Week for third time this season after the No. 16 Mustangs swept both their opponents last week to remain atop the Big West standings.
Van Winden averaged 6.33 kills per set and 4.00 digs per set, recording her ninth and 10th double-doubles of the season as Cal Poly swept both UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara to improve to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in the Big West. Against the Anteaters, she finished with a match-high 21 kills, 11 digs and two service aces while hitting .375 on 40 attacks. Later in the week against the Gauchos, she tallied a match-high 17 kills, 13 digs, a block and an ace while hitting .350 on 40 attempts. For the season, she now has eight matches with 20 or more kills.
Brouker was the catalyst for the Mustangs’ defense in the two sweeps last week. She averaged 5.17 digs per set, reaching double-figures in both matches. She tallied a match-high 17 digs against UC Irvine and 14 against UC Santa Barbara. She also added two service aces and seven assists in the two contests. For the season she has recorded double-digit dig numbers in 21 of Cal Poly’s 23 matches. She sits fourth all-time in program history in career digs and digs per set.
DeNecochea directed the Mustangs’ offense to a .279 hitting percentage for the week in the two sweeps. The setter averaged 11.83 assists and was solid defensively, averaging 2.17 digs per set. She dished out 39 assists against UC Irvine to go along with three digs and a block assist. She then notched her second double-double of the season against the Gauchos, finishing the match with 32 assists, 10 digs and two block assists.
Cal Poly continues road play this week with two matches. First, the Mustangs will take on UC Davis on Thursday at 7 p.m. They then travel to UC Irvine to take on the Anteaters Saturday at 7 p.m. That match will air on ESPN3. A link to watch that match can be found on the schedule page.
–Provided by Cal Poly
