On Nov. 27, the Pac-12 athletic conference announced its annual awards for the regular season of women’s volleyball. The Cardinal claimed an incredible number of honors, highlighted by sophomore wing Kathryn Plummer’s player of the year award.
Plummer has been exceptional all year for the Cardinal and is the first Stanford player to win the award since Alix Klineman in 2010. Plummer leads the Pac-12 with 4.70 kills per set and 5.43 points per set, and she is ranked top-10 in the nation in both of these categories. Her offensive dominance included 20 or more kills in 10 different matches and had her named Pac-12 offensive player of the week twice during the season.
In addition to Plummer’s individual acknowledgement, fellow sophomores Jenna Gray and Morgan Hentz were named Pac-12 setter and libero of the year, respectively. Gray and Hentz have been dynamic powerhouses for the Cardinal all year, anchoring the team at their positions. Gray is the second Stanford player to win setter of the year, after Madi Bugg won it in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Hentz is the first Stanford player to win libero of the year since the award was created in 2011.
Plummer, Hentz and Gray were all additionally named to the All-Pac-12 conference team, along with sophomore middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris and senior opposite Merete Lutz. Junior middle blocker Tami Alade was given all-conference honorable mention, and freshman wing Meghan McClure was named to the All-Pac-12 freshman team.
The team will carry these honors into the NCAA tournament on Friday when they take on CSU Bakersfield and attempt to make a run at the Final Four in Kansas City. Their journey begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Maples Pavilion.
Contact Bobby Pragada at bpragada “at” stanford.edu.