Dec. 2, 2013
DAVIS, Calif. - Senior opposite Devon Damelio and junior middle blocker Victoria Lee earned first-team selections while senior setter Jenny Woolway and junior middle blocker Katie Quinn each garnered honorable mention, representing UC Davis on the 2013 All-Big West Conference women's volleyball awards as announced by the league office on Monday.
This is the second straight first-team selection for Damelio and the fourth honorable mention for Woolway, who along with setter Lindsay Dowd wrapped up their careers at home on Saturday. Lee improved from All-Big West honorable mention in 2012 to her first-team nod this season. This is Quinn's first selection to an all-conference award.
Damelio, a native of Fairfield, Calif., led UC Davis in kills (367), total attempts (973) and serve receptions (603), while ranking second with 25 aces. She also amassed 317 digs and 86 blocks for the year, capping a season in which she picked up her fifth career all-tournament selection at the Wolf Pack Invitational and her first Big West Conference Player of the Week award. Damelio also became the eighth player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-kill plateau. She finishes sixth all-time with 1,058, passing Jen Bryan (1993-96) and Heidi Knapp (1988-91) on Saturday. Among Big West leaders, Damelio ranked seventh in kills per set at 3.11 and fourth in points per set with a 3.68 average.
Lee, who hails from Cupertino, led all Big West hitters with a school-record .403 average, committing just 37 errors against 249 kills on 526 swings. She also finished second on the Aggies with 92 blocks (0.78 per set), including a team-leading nine solos. Through three seasons, Lee boasts a career average of .369, putting her well on pace to break Betsy Sedlak's school record of .336, set from 2009-11. As the nation's top teams enter the NCAA tournament, Lee ranks 22nd nationally with that .403 clip.
Quinn, a San Anselmo resident, picked up her first All-Big West honorable mention despite missing four matches due to injury. She led UC Davis with 104 total blocks (five solos, 99 assists), ranking fifth among her conference peers with a 1.08 average. Quinn also hit 174-58-448 for a .259 average, tallied 12 aces and even passed 21-for-21 as a front-row player when teams short-served the Aggies early in the year. She picked up her first all-tournament award at the Wolf Pack Invitational.
Woolway, originally from San Diego, hit two major milestones in her senior season. She surpassed Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Famer Denise Bilbaeno as the program's all-time leader in career assists during the opening weekend, finishing with a total of 4,680 - just shy of the Big West Conference's top 10 list. Woolway's 346 digs, second on her team and tops among conference setters, lifted her final total to 1,273. She became the eighth overall player and the first setter in Aggie history to reach 1,000 career digs. Her final tally places her fifth all-time, just ahead of Kelly Gaudino (2000-03). Woolway finished fifth in the Big West Conference with a 10.26 assists average (1,201 total) while ranking 12th with 2.96 digs per set.
Hawai'i senior Emily Hartong won Big West Player of the Year honors, UC Santa Barbara's Ali Spindt was voted as Freshman of the Year, while Jeff Stork of Cal State Northridge and Nicole Lantagne Welch of UC Santa Barbara shared the Coach of the Year award.
UC Davis finished 14-15 overall and 6-10 in conference matches in 2013. Among the season highlights were upsets of California (Sept. 19) and then-No. 8 Hawai'i (Oct. 26), plus the 100th Aggie win for head coach Jamie Holmes.
