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2014 COLLEGIATE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP


2014 AVCA Players of the Year


NCAA DIVISION I Micha Hancock • Sr. • Setter Penn State University


NCAA DIVISION II Berkley Whaley • Jr. • OH University of Tampa


NCAA DIVISION III Maggie Kamp • Jr. • OH Calvin College


NAIA Amy Weststeyn • Sr. • MB Biola Uiniversity


TWO-YEAR COLLEGES Annie Mitchem • Soph. • MB Irvine Valley College


NCCAA


Erynn Schuh • Sr. • Setter Trinity Christian College


2014 AVCA


Coaches of the Year NCAA DIVISION I


Shawn Olmstead (Head Coach) Brigham Young University • Eve Rackham (Assistant Coach) North Carolina


NCAA DIVISION II


Chris Catanach (Head Coach) University of Tampa • Heather Roberts (Assistant Coach) Colorado School of Mines


NCAA DIVISION III Amber Warners (Head Coach) Calvin College • Morgan Coberly (Assistant Coach) Claremont-Mudd-Scripps


NAIA Mike Talamantes (Head Coach) Park University • Brett Gillen (Assistant Coach) Concordia University Irvine


TWO-YEAR COLLEGES


Erin Mellinger (Head Coach) Blinn College • James Exley (Assistant Coach) Miami Dade College


NCCAA


Bill Schepel (Head Coach) Trinity Christian College • Ray Sanders (Assistant Coach) Manhattan Christian College


See digital issue for more coverage on Division II, III, NAIA, Two-Year Colleges and NCCAA.


(usavolleyball.org/mag)


Spikes or hoops? BYU’s Jennifer Hamson has a tough choice to make


e can only hope that Jennifer Hamson sticks with volleyball, but she has options. The 6-7 native of Lindon, Utah, might just be lured away by basketball. It’s been back and forth between the two sports for her entire career at BYU — in a good way. She led the Cougars to the NCAA championship fi nal in vol- leyball in December. Before that she participated in two other Sweet 16s, one in bas- ketball in 2012 and another the same year in volleyball. In January, she was invited to a two-week vol- leyball training block in the USA national team gym that included a number of top collegiate players. Some- time soon, she’ll decide whether to go for basketball or volleyball, but Ham- son says she plays in the moment. “Whatever team I’m with at the moment, honestly – we just feel like family and we always work together really well,” she says. “And honestly, whichever team I’m on, that’s how I feel.”


W


SLAMS & DUNKS: Volleyball and basketball standout Jennifer Hamson lifted Brigham Young to the fi nals with her hot hitting and solid blocking against Texas. (Photo: BYU)


In 2014, Hamson focused only on vol- leyball, and in 2013 she played only bas- ketball. Back in 2012, she did both. Based on the results, she obviously handled it. It was a crazy schedule, sure, but it didn’t weigh on her as much as it weighed on her volleyball coach, Shawn Olmstead. “There were multiple times when she was going back and forth (between volley- ball and basketball), and I’d say, ‘Jen, you’re not practicing today,’” Olmstead says. “And she would get (ticked off). She actually told me, ‘Shawn, leave me alone with that. I’ll tell you when I don’t want to do something, but can you just let me do my thing?’” This year, she and junior outside hitter Alexa Gray paved the way for an impres- sive run through the NCAA volleyball tournament that included wins over 11th- seeded Arizona, 14th-seeded Nebraska and 2nd-seeded Texas. There was a lot of talk


50 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at usavolleyball.org/mag


about how incredible it was that BYU was the fi rst unseeded team to reach the fi nals, but coaches who had watched Hamson and the Cougars block opponents off the court en route to 12 straight wins leading into the NCAA fi nal knew better. It was clear that this team was well worthy of a seed and not quite the underdogs they were be- ing made out to be.


Hamson, whose mom, Tresa Spauld- ing, was a record-setting All-American basketball player at BYU, was more than just an attacking and blocking threat in volleyball. In the semifi nal win over Texas in Oklahoma City, she chipped in 10 digs, third highest on the team.


“She moves better than a lot of kids at that height – a little quicker, a little faster, gets her feet to the ball, adjusts,” Olmstead said. “Her mom and dad did her right. She was in gymnastics from a young age.” Now it’s volleyball or basketball. Stay


tuned.


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