Fresh off of a Labor Day weekend trip to the Hawaiian Islands in which the Sonoma State volleyball team went 3-1 at the 2012 Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Invitational, senior Ally Sather has been named the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Volleyball Player of the Week.
Sather, a native of Santa Rosa and a former Maria Carrillo High standout, led the Seawolves on offense this past weekend, smashing 55 kills with a .286 hitting percentage, including 18 kills on Aug. 31 against Hawaii Pacific.
For her efforts, Sather was also named to the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Invitational all-tournament team, which was released Tuesday by host schools, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific.
Sather pounded double-digit kills in three of the four matches this weekend, including 18 on Friday against HPU and 16 on Saturday against Montana State Billings.
She also aced seven serves and tallied 62 points in the tournament. In addition to her offensive production, the 6-foot-1 outside hitter recorded 22 digs, including her first-career double-digit digs performance with 10 in the season-opening victory over Seattle Pacific last Thursday.
A three-time All-CCAA performer, including two first team nods in each of the past two seasons, Sather moved into second place on the all-time kills list in SSU volleyball history this past weekend.
With 1,190 career kills, she needs 240 kills to break the 14-year-old record of 1,429, held by former SSU student-athlete and current Cal State Stanislaus head coach Christina (Difani) Lore (1995-98). Sather is also approaching the all-time points record; she is currently fourth on the all-time list, just 309 points from eclipsing the career points mark.
The Seawolves are set to host the Seawolf Spike on the SSU campus today (Sept. 7) and Saturday.
The tournament will comprise of eight teams, three of which are ranked in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Div. II Top 25 poll – Western Washington (No. 18), SSU (No. 23) and UC San Diego (No. 25).
Two other teams (Central Washington and Seattle Pacific) are also receiving votes in the coaches' poll. The Seawolves, with wins over Seattle Pacific, Chaminade and Montana State Billings on opening weekend in Hawaii, moved up one spot to 23rd this week after being ranked 24th in the preseason poll.
Each of the eight teams will play four matches during the two-day event, some of which will take place in SSU's Recreation Center in addition to the rest of the matches taking place in The Wolves' Den.
For a complete tournament schedule, go to the Seawolf Spike Web page at sonomaseawolves.com/spike.
Live stats will be available for all 16 matches this weekend, as well as a live video feed for all matches played in The Wolves' Den.
Links to the live broadcasts will be available on the Seawolf Spike Web page at the aforementioned Web address.
