Nov. 30, 2015 DAVIS, Calif. - Senior outside hitter Kaylin Squyres and junior outside hitter/opposite Kendall Walbrecht represented UC Davis on the All-Big West Conference women's volleyball first team, it was announced by the league office on Monday. Additionally, middle blocker Kelechi Ohiri made the Big West All-Freshman squad.
Hawai'i nabbed two of the major awards, as junior Nikki Taylor captured Player of the Year and Dave Shoji won Coach of the Year distinction. Cal Poly's Adlee Van Winden collected Big West Freshman of the Year honors.
Squyres, originally from Rocklin, California and the Northern California Volleyball Club, led the conference in both kills (263) and kills per set (4.24) in the 16 Big West matches. She also led all non-liberos with 202 total digs, or 3.26 per set. Overall, Squyres recorded 491 kills at 4.31 per set - both of which rank fourth in school history - while adding 403 digs and a team-leading 32 aces. She became the first Aggie since Candy Lench in 1990 to surpass both 400 kills and 400 digs in the same season, while her career total of 1,197 kills moves her into sixth in UC Davis annals.
Walbrecht, an alumna of La Cañada High School and San Gabriel Elite VBC, averaged 2.90 kills per set (180) total and hit .226 in conference play. She ranked second on the Aggies with 288 total kills, or 2.53 per set, while leading the Aggie pin hitters with 95 total blocks. Walbrecht switched between the left and right sides as UC Davis mixed up a 5-1 versus a 6-2 system throughout the year, and became part of the team's serving game during conference play. She finished the year with one of her best overall matches: 13-1-30 hitting (.400) with seven total blocks.
Ohiri, formerly of Elk Grove's Monterey Trail High School and Delta Valley VBC, succeeds fellow middle blocker Aima Eichie as a selection to the All-Freshman team. She finished her conference season in strong form, tallying 21 total blocks in wins over UC Irvine and Cal Poly, raising her conference average from 1.00 to 1.30 and moving her into second among the Big West leaders. Ohiri also hit .329 in league play and .333 overall, good for fourth and fifth, respectively. She finished her redshirt freshman season with 120 kills (1.46 kps) and a team-high 98 blocks (1.20) despite missing nine matches due to injury.
The Aggies finished 10-6 in conference for fourth place, one win behind Cal Poly - a team they swept during the year.
