BYU, Utah Utes volleyball: Four Utes, Cougar named All-Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Four University of Utah student-athletes — Karolina Bartkowiak, Keisha Fisher, Erin Redd and Morgan Odale — were named to the 2010 all-Mountain West Conference Volleyball Team, while Odale was selected as the Freshman of the Year and BYU middle blocker Stephanie Snow earned the league's inaugural Newcomer of the Year award and was also named to the All-MWC first team, the league office announced Tuesday.

"To have four players named to the All-MWC team is a tribute to the season we had," Utah head coach Beth Launiere said. "We finished strong with the big win over Colorado State in the last weekend of MWC play."

Bartkowiak, a senior from Aurora, Ill., earned her third consecutive all-conference nod. This season, she ranked ninth in the MWC with 2.96 kills per set and a .288 hitting percentage. In conference play, she finished eighth with 1.11 blocks per set and a .312 hitting percentage and was listed ninth with 3.75 points per set. Bartkowiak finished her career ninth in school history with 1,115 career kills and became the 12th member of Utah's 1,000-kill club during a season-high 19 kill-performance against BYU on Oct. 29.

Fisher was recognized as the co-designated libero after recording 498 digs this season, a mark that passed Connie Dangerfield's single-season school record (484 in 2007). Fisher led the MWC with 4.26 digs per set in all matches and averaged 4.23 digs per set during league play, which was second in the conference.

Redd, a freshman from Spanish Fork, Utah, joined Bartkowiak and Fisher on the all-MWC team after finishing second in the MWC with a .354 hitting percentage and was second place in the conference-only stats with a .368 clip in league matches. She managed to hit over .500 eight times and over .400 16 times.

Odale earned the MWC Freshman of the Year award after finishing in the MWC's top 10 in six different statistical categories. She finished second in the conference-only stats with 0.34 service aces per set and was seventh with 3.15 kills per set and 3.81 points per set. In the overall statistics, she finished fifth with 3.88 points per set, sixth in kills (3.25/set) and ninth in service aces (0.26/set).

Snow, a senior middle blocker from Tempe, Ariz., earned the MWC's inaugural Newcomer of the Year award after leading the conference in hitting percentage (.384) in league play. Overall, the transfer from the University of Arizona ranked fourth in hitting percentage (.352). Snow averaged 2.63 kills and 0.75 blocks per set overall. She also tallied double-figure kills in 17 matches.

"I was hoping for All-Conference, but I was very surprised that I would be named the Newcomer of the Year," Snow said. "I couldn't have done it without my team. It is a great honor."

Overall, Snow finished with 324 kills.

Colorado State senior Danielle Minch was named Player of the Year for the second year in a row, and Jeff Nelson of New Mexico was honored as Coach of the Year.

Minch, a native of Sterling, Colo., is the fourth player in league history to repeat as player of the year and third from Colorado State after leading the Rams to their eighth Mountain West

Conference title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Nelson guided the Lobos to their third 20-win season in a row (20-9) and a second-place finish in the league standings. It is the highest MWC finish in program history for the Lobos, and their 12 wins in Mountain West play is a team record (12-4). New Mexico also earned its second consecutive NCAA Tournament at-large bid in 2010.