The women's volleyball team has shown its great ability each year when it qualifies for the NCAA Tournament. This talent as been shown early this year as three Hornets have already snagged the coveted Big Sky Player of the Week honor. Having three members of the team get the honor of Player of the Week is a bigger deal since they received them back-to-back-to-back. Lindsay Haupt won the honor in week one, then Kristin Lutes in week two and middle-hitter Michelle Franz in week three.
The volleyball team has earned three consecutive Player of the Week awards before, once last season (Haupt on Oct. 24, Haupt on Oct. 31 and Natalie Melcher on Nov. 7) and once in 2001 (Lisa Beauchene on Oct. 8, Tasman Dwyer on Oct. 15 and Jayme Wright on Oct. 22).
Haupt earned co-player of the week on Aug 29, with Eastern Washington's Brittney Page, for her performance in week one.
"I would have liked to have it to myself," she said. "Those are the stats and she earned it as well, but it would have been nice to have done better."
This will mark the third Player of the Week awarded to Haupt. She earned two last season as well as being the first sophomore in Big Sky history to earn the conference Most Valuable Player award.
One may wonder where she can go from here. Has she hit the top with nowhere to climb? She doesn't think so.
"I look past the Big Sky Conference," Haupt said. "(I want to) compare with the other girls who are ranked, to match their stats."
Haupt led her team when it competed in the Sun Bowl Invitational in the first week of the season, where the Hornets went 3-1 and was named to the all-tourney team, along with senior Atlee Hubbard.
She said her first goal was to do better in the non-conference matches to gear up for the Big Sky.
"I wanted to work hard to do well in the conference," she said.
On Sept. 5, the Big Sky named Lutes the Player of the Week, marking the first time a libero has ever won the honor. The libero position is a defensive position, where Lutes must play all six rotations instead of the usual three.
Lutes made a goal at the beginning of the season, as do all athletes, and with hard work she achieved one of her main goals.
She said her hard work has paid off. "I go out there every day and this is a result of that."
Lutes led the Hornets in the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. where she averaged a tournament-best 7.80 digs per game.
"I just go for the digs and don't let the ball touch the ground," Lutes said.
Against Southwest Missouri State, she recorded 28 digs, just three shy of the school record for a three-game match. She tallied 78 digs in 10 games during the week, leading Sacramento State in digs in every match.
Franz earned the Player of the Week honor on Sept. 11, but it wasn't her first time. As with Haupt, Franz won three times, including two last season, which gives her more confidence going into the Big Sky.
"It gives me more confidence as a player," Franz said. "It makes me want to go for more."
The Carmichael native led Sac State with a 4-1 record last week, including a 3-1 record in the Sacramento State Invitational, where she averaged 2.32 kills and a team-high 2.26 blocks per game.
Franz has made at least six blocks in all but one match and made a career-high of 13 blocks against San Francisco in the Sacramento State Invitational and 12 at Nevada. The 13 against USF tied for the third-best mark in school history, and the 12 tied for the eighth-best. She was named to the All-tournament team at the Sacramento State Invitational and the Arkansas Invitational.
She said making it into the school's history books makes her want to work harder.
Her 12 blocks and seven kills, including a crucial block in game three, helped the Hornets beat the Nevada Wolf Pack for the first time since 1994.
The junior posted her first career double-double (11 kills, 13 blocks and a .345 hitting percentage) against USF at the Sacramento State Invitational and a career-high four aces in the victory over UC Riverside.
This won't be the last good thing to come from the volleyball team. The Hornets beat Northern Arizona 3-0 in the Big Sky opener. After 14 matches, Sac State posts a 13-3 record, which is the best record since the 1995 team (13-1). The Hornets won five consecutive matches and eight in the last nine.
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Karyn Gilbert can be reached at [email protected]
