Colorado State University Athletics
CSU's Foss named Mountain West Player of the Year
12/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the sixth-consecutive season, a Colorado State student-athlete has been named the Mountain West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year. Senior Deedra Foss earned the distinction on Monday, one of five Rams recognized by the conference.
Joining Foss on the all-conference team, junior Adrianna Culbert and senior Kelsey Snider earned their second selections, while senior Marlee Reynolds and junior Jaime Colaizzi were picked for the first time. Culbert, Reynolds and Snider were named to the 18-player All-MW team, while Colaizzi was one of six players recognized as Honorable Mention. In addition to Player of the Year, Foss was the conference’s designated setter for the second-straight season.
In the league’s 16-year history, a CSU player has earned the top honor 11 times: Angela Knopf (2000, 2001), Melissa Courtney (2003, 2004), Mekana Barnes (2007), Danielle Minch (2009, 2010), Katelyn Steffan (2011), Dana Cranston (2012), Samantha Peters (2013) and Foss (2014).
Foss is the 14th player in CSU history to earn all-conference honors three times throughout her career. Additionally, she was the 2011 MW Newcomer of the Year, making her just the fifth player to earn recognition each year of her career.
Deedra Foss | Senior | Setter | McKenna, Wash.
Averaging 12.11 assists per set, Foss was far and away the top setter in the conference, also helping CSU to a conference-leading .273 hitting percentage. Overall, Foss is averaging 11.74 assists per set (third in the NCAA) and CSU is hitting .281 (ninth). In addition to her assists average and team hitting percentage, Foss averaged 0.85 blocks per set, which led all MW setters. She also averaged 0.64 kills, 2.15 digs and 0.21 aces per set.
Foss will finish her career ranked in the top five in CSU and Mountain West history for assists, including first during the 25-point scoring era. Her 11.22 career assists-per-set average ranks second among active setters in the NCAA with at least 4,500 assists.
Adrianna Culbert | Junior | Opposite Hitter | Delton, Mich.
As one of the most versatile players in the MW, Culbert hit .348 during conference play, the highest among all pin hitters. She also ranked in the top 10 for digs (3.23 per set), the top for a non-defensive specialist. She is the only player in the MW to rank in the top 10 for hitting and digs; she also ranked 17th for kills per set (2.69). In October, she was named the MW Player of the Week and the espnW National Player of the Week.
Marlee Reynolds | Senior | Outside Hitter | Dalhart, Texas
As CSU’s leading hitter, Reynolds ranked fifth in the MW for kills (3.21 per set), eighth for points (3.58). Her .243 hitting percentage ranked first among all outside hitters, and her 0.69 blocks per set were also first among outside hitters. She was the only outside hitter to average at least 3.00 kills, 0.50 blocks and hit above .200. She had a career-high 21 kills vs. UNLV in October, and earlier in the season, was named the MW Player of the Week after helping CSU to the Residence Inn Invitational title, including a win at No. 18 Arizona State.
Kelsey Snider | Senior | Middle Blocker | Westminster, Colo.
In her second season at middle blocker, Snider led all middle blockers with 2.90 kills and 3.78 points per set. Her .347 hitting percentage ranked fourth, and her 18 service aces were tied for first for her position. She was the only player in the MW to rank in the top 10 in the MW for points (third), hitting (fifth), kills (T-10th), blocks (10th) and service aces (T-4th). She earned MW Player of the Week honors in September after helping CSU to a 4-0 week, including a win vs. No. 9 BYU.
Jaime Colaizzi | Junior | Libero | Windsor, Colo.
In her second season at libero, Colaizzi averaged 4.03 digs per set during conference play, including double figures in 16 of 18 matches. The junior had 14 service aces and just 11 receiving errors – tops among MW liberos. For the season, she is averaging 4.27 digs per set, which would rank third in CSU single-season history.
The five selections are the most represented by the Rams since 2009. CSU and UNLV had the most selections in the MW.
CSU won the Mountain West for the sixth-straight season in 2014, a program first. CSU is the only school in the nation to win its respective conference title each of the past six years. The Rams finished the regular season 29-2 and ranked No. 9 nationally. CSU won its first 11 MW matches before finishing 17-1.
CSU will continue its season this week, hosting first- and second-round NCAA tournament matches at Moby Arena. The Rams will face Denver Friday at 6:30 p.m. More details, including ticket information, can be found here.