Seattle University was well-represented as the Western Athletic Conference postseason volleyball awards were announced Wednesday night at the pre-tournament banquet, featuring senior middle blocker Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia), who was voted First Team All-WAC for the second consecutive year.
In addition, junior outside hitter Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia) and sophomore opposite hitter Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) were named Second Team All-WAC honorees. For the third straight season, at least one Redhawk received mention on the All-Freshman Team, as middle blocker Maja Stojanovic (Cacak, Serbia) earned the honor after a stellar first-year campaign.
Samadan, the only Redhawk to appear in all 97 sets so far this season, leads the conference and is second in Division I in hitting percentage at .449, on pace to set a new single-season school record. A three-time WAC Player of the Week during the 2015 season, Samadan is third in the league in both kills per set (3.26) and blocks per set (1.21).
During conference play, Samadan seemed at times unstoppable, compiling a .463 hitting percentage that included six league matches with a hitting percentage of .500 or better. She has notched double-figure kills in 14 of the last 15 matches, including 19-kill performances in both meetings with WAC regular season champion New Mexico State.
Mamic has appeared in 25 matches for the Redhawks this season, compiling 253 kills, 36 service aces, and 157 digs. She notched three double-doubles this season, including a 16-kill, 11-dig performance at Missouri-Kansas City Sept. 24 and a 14-kill, 16-dig effort in Seattle U’s comeback victory over Chicago State Oct. 22.
Vujcin leads the league and is fourth in Division I in service aces per set (0.54), tying the Redhawk single-match record for service aces with eight at UT Rio Grande Valley Oct. 15. She earned a season-high 18 kills in Seattle U’s five-set victory at Missouri-Kansas City Sept. 24, plus she was named MVP of the Molten Classic in Berkeley, Calif., after leading the Redhawks to victories over Eastern Washington, Nevada, and California.
Stojanovic is currently second on the team with 83 total blocks, including a season-high 10 total blocks in the Redhawks’ victory over Nevada Aug. 29. She collected a season-high nine kills on just 12 attack attempts with only one error for a .667 hitting percentage Sept. 17 against Central Florida.
WAC regular season champion New Mexico State earned two of the three major awards, as senior outside hitter Gwen Murphy was named WAC Player of the Year and Mike Jordan was named WAC Coach of the Year. Utah Valley’s Abby Jensen received the WAC Freshman of the Year award.
Seattle University (17-10, 9-5 WAC) will face Missouri-Kansas City in the first round of the WAC Volleyball Tournament Thursday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. Pacific time). The match will be shown live on the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/live).