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FAIRBANKS — A trio of Alaska Nanooks earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-conference volleyball honors on Monday.

Senior middle blocker Korlyn Bolster was named to the first team, while juniors Megan Thigpen and Alexa Sherman garnered honorable mention honors.

Bolster led the Nanooks in numerous statistical categories — kills (292), kills per set (3.21) attack percentage (.311), blocks (12 solo, 64 assists, 76 total), points (342.0) and points per set (3.76).

In the GNAC, Bolster ranked third for hitting percentage, eighth in kills and points and 11th in blocks.

Bolster moved up from honorable mention as a junior to a first-team selection as a senior when the Nanooks improved to 15-10 overall and 9-7 in conference play.

Thigpen, a junior, earned all-conference honors for the third time — she was a first-time team selection as a freshman and honorable mention pick as a sophomore — while Sherman was a first-time pick.

Thigpen finished the regular season first on the team in attack attempts (783), service aces (29), digs (311) and digs per set (3.31), and was second to Bolster in kills (250), kills per set (2.66) points (291.0) and points per set (3.10).

Sherman notched a team-high 978 assists for an average of 10.40 per set and was second in digs (211) and attack percentage (.270). She was third best in the GNAC for assists and assists per set.

Western Washington middle blocker Angie Alvord was selected as the Player of the Year, while Western Oregon coach Brad Saindon was selected Coach of the Year in his first season with the Wolves.

Western Oregon won the GNAC title and was the only team from the conference that was selected to play in the NCAA Division II West Regional this weekend in San Bernardino, Calif.

Six teams from the California Collegiate Athletic Association and BYU-Hawaii of the Pacific West Conference will join Western Oregon in the regional tournament.

Alvord, who finished the regular-season ranked first in service aces (0.54), second in total points (4.78) and hitting percentage (.320), fourth in kills (3.68) and seventh in blocks (0.89), edged outside hitter Stacey Bennett of Western Oregon in the balloting for Player of the Year. Alvord received four first-place votes and Bennett had three. The two standouts were also the only unanimous selections to the first team.

Saindon, a 1976 graduate of Arizona State, was a near unanimous selection for Coach of the Year. Saindon, who led the Wolves to a 22-2 record, received eight of nine first-place votes.

Also winning special awards were Alaska Anchorage setter Calli Scott and Seattle Pacific libero Anna Herold.

Scott, who ranks second in the conference in assists (10.62), was voted the GNAC Newcomer of the Year receiving eight of the nine votes. Herold, who ranks third in digs (6.03), was selected the GNAC Freshman of the Year, earning five of the nine first-place votes.

Northwest Nazarene middle blocker Cammy Dranginis was named to the first team for the third year in a row. She is the sixth player in GNAC history to receive first team honors in three consecutive seasons. Central Washington middle blocker Rachael Schurman was the only other repeat selection from last year’s first team.

Contact the News-Miner sports department at 459-7581.