NCAA | Washington volleyball sophomore is national player of the week

Middle blocker Lianna Sybeldon honored by American Volleyball Coaches Association

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Washington’s Lianna Sybeldon, a sophomore middle blocker, has been named the Sports Imports National Player of the Week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Washington's Lianna Sybeldon (10) attacks against Arizona
-photo by Shutter Geeks Photography

Sybeldon and her teammates just completed a four-match sweep of the Pac-12’s California schools: Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC. The award honors her 27 kills against the two Los Angeles teams over the weekend. [For a recap of Sybeldon’s performance in those matches, see: What we learned from Washington volleyball’s victory over USC].

“It’s big to receive that recognition,” says Washington head coach Jim McLaughlin. “In LA, she got a big return on all the work she’s been putting in. She never complains, she’s always positive, she has a tremendous presence on the team.”

Sybeldon is the first sophomore—and the first player from the Pac-12 Conference—to win the national honor this season. Washington’s Krista Vansant, currently a junior, won the award last year during her sophomore season. Washington players have won the award five other times: Jenna Hagglund (2008), Sanja Tomasevic (2005), Sanja Tomasevic (2003), Makare Desilets (1997) and Angela Bransom (1996).

2013 SPORTS IMPORTS/AVCA DIVISION I PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
September 3	Vendula Strakova	Hampton	RS	Jr.
September 10	Kaitlyn Leary	Ohio State	OH	Sr.
September 17	Sallie McLaurin	Oklahoma	MB	Sr.
September 24	Stephanie Holthus	Northwestern	OH	Sr.
October 1	Lauren Wicinski	Michigan State	OH	Sr.
October 8	Kelsey Robinson	Nebraska	OH	Sr.
October 15	Michelle Sicner	Creighton	S	Jr.
October 22	Molly Kreklow	Missouri	S	Sr.
October 29	Lianna Sybeldon	Washington	MB	So.

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Photos courtesy Shutter Geeks Photography