Thibeault named first team All-Big Sky
11/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
University of Montana junior Jaimie Thibeault was named first team All-Big Sky Conference the league office announced Thursday night on the eve of the Big Sky Conference tournament, which will be held Friday and Saturday in Cheney, Wash. It was the second consecutive year Thibeault was named to the first team.
Junior Brittney Brown was named Libero of the Year, senior Taryn Wright was named second team All-Big Sky and senior Whitney Hobbs and Brown earned honorable mention honors.
Montana went 14-13 during the regular season and finished 10-6 in Big Sky Conference play. The Grizzlies will take the No. 4 seed into tomorrow???s opening tournament semifinal against top seed Portland State.
Thibeault is putting together one of Montana???s top single-season performances in program history. She hit .366 during the regular season, which led the Big Sky Conference and will easily break the current Montana single-season hitting percentage record of .305.
Thibeault also ranks second in the Big Sky in blocks (1.32/s) and seventh in kills (3.24/s).
After missing the opening three matches of the season to compete for Alberta at the Canada Games, Thibeault returned to post double-figure kills in 20 of Montana???s final 24 matches and 11 times hit .400 or better in a match.
She becomes Montana???s first back-to-back first-team selection since Karen Goff earned three straight first-team selections in 1992, ???93 and ???94.
???The team and I are very excited for Jaimie,??? fourth-year UM coach Jerry Wagner said. ???The way she conducts herself and the passion she has for the game, she is a very deserving player.
???She loves to play, and she loves to play with her teammates. She plays at a high level night in and night out, and that???s how awards like these come about, with Jaimie???s type of consistency. It???s never a one-time thing with Jaimie. It???s every day, every opportunity.???
Brown earned both Libero of the Year and honorable mention All-Big Sky honors after leading the Big Sky in digs during league play at 4.87 per set. Brown posted double-figure digs in all but three matches on the season and had 10 matches of 20 or more digs.
Brown???s 486 digs this year is the third-best single-season total in program history.
???This is deserving because Brittney is consistently trying to get better, always listening and always taking advantage of opportunities,??? Wagner said. ???With the players we have in the gym every practice, Brittney certainly gets a chance to condition herself to being in rallies, staying in rallies for a long time and finding ways to cover her teammates.
???She works hard every day trying to find ways to position herself better and better on the court so she can create more opportunities for her team.???
Wright, who was an honorable mention selection as a sophomore, earned second-team honors for the second straight season. She was one of three setters to earn second-team honors behind first-team selection and Big Sky MVP Nique Fradella of Portland State.
Wright, who has started 77 straight matches at setter for the Grizzlies, will lead the team in both assists and service aces for the fourth straight season. In league matches this year, Wright leads the Big Sky in service aces (0.36/s) and ranks fifth in assists (10.36/s).
In addition to her role of setter and the team???s most lethal server, Wright is also an offensive and defensive threat. She is averaging a career-best 1.09 kills per set in her final season and is tied for third on the team in blocking at 0.55 per set.
Wright ran an offense that played the entire Big Sky season without left-side hitter Amy Roberts, a second-team All-Big Sky selection last year who was lost for the season in Montana???s final non-conference match against Arizona State.
???Taryn is not only a complete setter, but she???s a complete player in that position. We count on her to be involved in every area of the game on top of running the offense,??? Wagner said.
???This season she had probably the most difficult setting job of any setter in the conference because of how our offense had to evolve (after Amy???s injury). She had to make every pass into the strengths of our offense, which were mainly our middles and right-side player, and that isn???t something other setters have to do.
???Taryn was able to bring along two new left-side hitters, and now were a complete team that???s winning because of that. Taryn???s strength to hang in there and do a lot of things well while we were bringing this along was pivotal to our season.???
Hobbs, who has 19 double-figure kills matches, is averaging 3.04 kills per set for the season on .194 hitting, both career highs. She ranks eighth in the Big Sky in kills.
The two-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Week is third on Montana in service aces with 15 and is tied for third in blocks (0.55/s).
Over Montana???s 5-1 close to the regular season to surge into the postseason, Hobbs is averaging 3.00 kills per set on .304 hitting.
???I was hoping Whitney would embrace the role we had worked out for her because she is a unique player, one of a kind this particular year,??? Wagner said. ???Her versatility in all positions allowed us to be more of the offensive team that I had planned for the program this year and for down the road.
???I couldn???t be happier that she???s been recognized. She came through with veteran performances time and again this season when we needed her the most.???
Fradella, a senior, was league MVP and one of two unanimous selections to the first team along with junior teammate outside hitter Whitney Phillips. Phillips, a transfer from New Mexico State who led the Big Sky in kills by more than one per set, was also voted Top Newcomer.
Joining Thibeault, Fradella and Phillips on the first team were seniors Chelsea Bair of Weber State, Hayley Hills of Eastern Washington and Allison Raguse of Northern Colorado and junior Chenoa Coviare of Eastern Washington.
Hills is a three-time first-team selection.
The second team was made up of six seniors and one freshman. Along with Wright, other seniors were Eastern Washington???s Ashley Hamilton, Sacramento State???s Desiree Hoyum, Portland State???s Erica Jepsen, Northern Colorado???s Kenzie Shreeve and Idaho State???s Emily Waldron.
The second-team freshman was Northern Colorado setter Marissa Hughes.
Eleven of the 14 first- and second-team selections will be playing in the four-team Big Sky tournament this weekend.
Hobbs and Brown were two of 10 players voted to honorable mention honors.
Northern Arizona???s Kelli Dallmann, a setter/outside hitter, was named Outstanding Freshman.
First team All-Big Sky Conference
Nique Fradella ^* (Portland State, Sr., S, Lake Arrowhead, Calif.)
Whitney Phillips * (Portland State, Jr., OH, Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Allison Raguse (Northern Colorado, Sr., MB, Lincoln, Neb.)
Jaimie Thibeault # (Montana, Jr., MB, Red Deer, Alberta)
Chenoa Coviare (Eastern Washington, Jr., MB, Medford, Ore.)
Chelsea Bair (Weber State, Sr., OH, Provo, Utah)
Hayley Hills % (Eastern Washington, Sr., OH, Quesnel, British Columbia)
* Unanimous selection, # Two-time first feam selection, % Three-time first team selection
Second team All-Big Sky Conference
Erica Jepsen (Portland State, Sr., MB, Kennewick, Wash.)
Emily Waldron (Idaho State, Sr., OH, Roseburg, Ore.)
Kenzie Shreeve (Northern Colorado, Sr., OH, Eagle, Colo.)
Taryn Wright (Montana, Sr., S, Fair Oaks, Calif.)
Ashley Hamilton (Eastern Washington, Sr., S, Alpine, Utah)
Desiree Hoyum (Sacramento State, Sr., OH, Anderson, Calif.)
Marissa Hughes (Northern Colorado, Fr., S, Huntington Beach, Calif.)
Honorable mention
Sara Todorovich (Eastern Washington, Jr., MB, Walla Walla, Wash.); Paige Palmer (Idaho State, Sr., L, Highland, Utah); Whitney Hobbs (Montana, Sr., OH, Placerville, Calif.); Brittney Brown (Montana, Jr., L, San Antonio, Texas); Kyla Hendry (Montana State, Sr., MB, Lanigan, Saskatchewan); Taylor Smith (Northern Colorado, Sr., MB, Denton, Texas); Marija Vojnovic (Portland State, Sr., OH, Belgrade, Serbia); Christie Hamilton (Portland State, Jr., MB/OH, Calgary, Alberta); Maddison Thivierge (Sacramento State, Jr., MB, Ashland, Ore.); Caitlyn Anderson (Weber State, Sr., OH/L, Idaho Falls, Idaho)
Individual award winners
Most Valuable Player - Nique Fradella, Sr., S, Portland State
Top Newcomer - Whitney Phillips, Jr., OH, Portland State
Libero of the Year - Brittney Brown, Jr., Montana
Freshman of the Year - Kelli Dallmann, Northern Arizona
