Four Anteaters Garner All-Big West Conference Nods
December 02, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- Outside hitters Marisa Bubica, Aly Squires and Cassidy Pickrell and setter Shelley Anderson earned All-Big West Conference honors as voted by the conference coaches.
Bubica and Squires were named Honorable Mention while Pickrell and Anderson were voted to the All-Freshman Team.
Bubica led the Anteaters with a 3.00 kill average, ending the regular season ninth in the Big West. She also recorded 3.52 points per set to finish eighth among the conference leaders. She was named to the Wolverine Classic and Cleveland State All-Tournament teams. The redshirt sophomore was voted Big West Player of the Week for the first time after leading UCI to back-to-back wins over UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton and also enjoys her second all-conference award after earning a spot on the All-Freshman Team in 2012
Squires becomes a three-time all-conference honorable mention choice. The senior sits 10th in the league with a 3.39 points-per-set average and logged 337 kills while averaging 2.88 per set. Squires was second on the team in digs with 309 (2.64) and third on the team in blocks with 79. She was named the Pioneer Classic Most Valuable Player this year and also secured a spot on the Cleveland State, Wolverine Classic and UC Irvine Classic All-Tournament teams. Squires ends her collegiate career fourth in the program's career records in attack attempts (4291), seventh in kills (1271) and ninth in digs (1,038). She just missed the top 10 in career block assists, finishing 11th with 215.
Pickrell's recognition gives UCI an All-Freshman Team honoree for the second consecutive year. The outside hitter put away 245 kills and averaged 2.69 per set. She was ranked fourth in the conference with 29 aces and a .32 average while picking up 116 digs. She recorded a career-high 25 kills in a win against Cal State Fullerton and posted three service aces in a match five times.
Anderson was seventh in the Big West in assist average at 8.97, handing out 1,050 assists on the year. Her effort put her name into UCI's top 20 at No. 13. She posted a career-high 55 assists in the match against Utah Valley and was an attack-minded setter, knocking down 89 kills this year to go along with 28 aces and 233 digs. She was voted to the UC Irvine All-Tournament team this season.
UCI finished with a 14-16 record and was 5-11 in conference play. The Anteaters' posted a season-high five-match win streak to kick off the season.
Emily Hartong (Hawaii) was the Big West Player of the Year while Ali Spindt (UCSB) was the Freshman of the Year. Jeff Stork (CSUN) and Nicole Lantagne Welch (UCSB) received Co-Coach of the Year accolades.
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