Nov. 27, 2012

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Mountain West All-Conference Women's Volleyball awards, as selected by the league's nine head coaches, were announced today by the league office. Colorado State senior Dana Cranston was named Player of the Year, the sixth Ram to earn the league's top honor. UNLV's Kinsey Caldwell was named Freshman of the Year, while San Diego State's Michelle Waber was voted Newcomer of the Year. Deitre Collins-Parker of San Diego State was selected Coach of the Year.

Cranston, a native of Fort St. John, B.C., joins former Rams Angela Knopf (2000-2001), Melissa Courtney (2003-04), Mekana Barnes (2007), Danielle Minch (2009-10) and Katelyn Steffan (2011) in earning the league's top honor. Cranston led CSU to its 10th Mountain West regular season title and fourth in a row. Cranston, an outside hitter, finished the regular season second in the league in points (4.60), kills (3.89) and service aces (0.31) per set in Conference matches. She also ranks ninth in MW play in hitting percentage (.277). Cranston also is second in points (4.31) and kills (3.65) per set in overall matches, while ranking seventh in aces (0.26).

Caldwell, a setter from Waverly, Iowa, is the fourth Rebel to earn MW Freshman of the Year accolades. In league play, she ranked fourth with 10.28 assists per set. Caldwell completed the season ranked third with 10.33 assists per set in overall matches.

Waber, a sophomore transfer from Wildomar, Calif., earned the MW's Newcomer of the Year award after hitting .207 and averaging 2.57 kills per set in league play. Overall, Waber, an outside hitter, is currently hitting .229 and averaging 2.59 kills per set.

Collins-Parker was named Mountain West Coach of the Year for the first time in the league's 14-year history. Collins-Parker led the Aztecs to their first MW regular season title and an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. SDSU is 23-7 overall and finished MW action at 13-3.

Colorado State's Megan Plourde was named to the MW All-Conference team for the fourth consecutive season, becoming just the second player in league history to earn the accolade every year of their collegiate career (Kim Turner, Utah, 2000-03).

San Diego State's Andrea Hannasch and Wyoming's Jodi Purdy made their third consecutive All-MW team. Cranston and teammate Brieon Paige, San Diego State's Johnna Fouch and Raegan Shelton, UNLV's Madeline Westman and Wyoming's Erin Kirby were honored for the second year in a row. Fouch was named the team's designated setter, while New Mexico junior Miquella Lovato earned the designated libero honor.

Fresno State setter Barbara Alcantara and Nevada middle blocker Tessa Lea'ea became the first Bulldog and Wolf Pack women's volleyball players to earn Mountain West honors. Caldwell, Boise State's Liz Harden, CSU's Deedra Foss, UNM's Chantale Riddle and Wyoming's Becky Stewart round out the 2012 All-MW team.

2012 MOUNTAIN WEST ALL-CONFERENCE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Name	Institution	Class	Position	Hometown
Liz Harden	Boise State	Sr.	RS	Lake Forest, Calif.
Dana Cranston #	Colorado State	Sr.	OH	Fort St. John, B.C.
Deedra Foss	Colorado State	So.	S	McKenna, Wash.
Brieon Paige #	Colorado State	Sr.	MB	Sacramento, Calif.
Megan Plourde ^!#	Colorado State	Sr.	MB	Somerset, Wisc.
Barbara Alcantara	Fresno State	Sr.	S	Curitiba, Brazil
Tessa Lea'ea	Nevada	So.	MB	Stockton, Calif.
Chantale Riddle	New Mexico	So.	RS	Roswell, N.M.
Andrea Hannasch !#	San Diego State	Sr.	MB	New Braunfels, Texas
Raegan Shelton #	San Diego State	Jr.	OH	Amarillo, Texas
Kinsey Caldwell	UNLV	Fr.	S	Waverly, Iowa
Madeline Westman #	UNLV	Jr.	MB	Wauconda, Ill.
Erin Kirby #	Wyoming	So.	MB	Evanston, Wyo.
Jodi Purdy !#	Wyoming	Sr.	OH	Winterset, Iowa
Becky Stewart	Wyoming	Jr.	L	Parker, Colo.
Designated Setter - Johnna Fouch #	San Diego State	Jr.		Redlands, Calif.
Designated Libero - Miquella Lovato	New Mexico	Jr.		Pojoaque, N.M.
Player of the Year
Dana Cranston, Sr., OH, Colorado State
Freshman of the Year
Kinsey Caldwell, Fr., S, UNLV
Newcomer of the Year
Michelle Waber, So.-TR, OH, San Diego State
Coach of the Year
Deitre Collins-Parker, San Diego State
^ = 2009 honoree ! = 2010 honoree # = 2011 honoree

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