Four Cougars, coach earn All-Pacific Region accolades

PROVO, Utah—Four Cougar volleyball players and their coach received AVCA regional honors Tuesday following the BYU women’s volleyball team’s most successful regular season since 1998.

Jennifer Hamson and Nicole Warner received AVCA All-Pacific Region honors. A two-time honoree, Hamson leads the Cougars with 4.07 kills per set and is No. 18 in Division I volleyball for points per set with 5.03. She also averages 1.83 digs and 1.27 blocks per set. Warner led the country in blocking for most of November and now sits at No. 2 in the NCAA for blocks per set with 1.81. She is also No. 6 in hitting percentage, recording a .434 clip. Warner averages 1.77 kills per set.

Freshman Alexa Gray and senior Heather Hannemann were named AVCA All-Pacific Region Honorable Mention. Gray, an outside hitter, averages 3.31 kills per set on .312 hitting. Hannemann averages 11.19 assists per set, good for No. 31 in NCAA Division I volleyball.

Shawn Olmstead was honored as Pacific Region Coach of the Year for guiding the Cougars to their first WCC title since joining the league in 2011 and BYU’s first since 2005. In just two years of coaching, Olmstead has recorded two 20-plus win seasons for an overall record of 49-12. This season Olmstead led BYU to its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007 and a 28-3 record.

The Cougars face Oregon in the Round of 16 Friday at 4 p.m. CST in Omaha, Neb.