UW’s Vansant, UH’s Hartong earn honors
Washington junior Krista Vansant is the 2013 American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year. The national award was announced Friday at the NCAA Championship in Seattle.
The Pac-12 Player of the Year led the Huskies to the conference title and a spot in the final four. UW was swept by Penn State in a Thursday semifinal. Vansant ranked third in the conference in kills.
PSU’s Russ Rose is AVCA Division I Coach of the Year for the fifth time, while Texas associate head coach Salima Rockwell was named Assistant Coach of the Year.
Rose is in his 35th year as coach of the Nittany Lions. He has 1,124 victories going into tonight’s NCAA tournament final against Wisconsin and is second to Hawaii’s Dave Shoji (1,128) on the career wins list.
Rainbow Wahine senior Emily Hartong was named to the second team for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award. Penn State hitter Ariel Scott is the award winner for Division I.
The award is chosen by a nationwide vote of coaches, volleyball media and fans. Hartong and Florida’s Chloe Mann, who was named to the first team, dominated the fan vote.
The annual award is for "notable achievements in classroom, community, character and competition."
Scott, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, has a 3.8 grade-point average in public relations, with minors in business and liberal arts. She is a Special Olympics volunteer. The three-time All-American ranks second on her team in kills and blocks.
Hartong is also a three-time All-American and ranks seventh nationally in kills, at 4.69 a set. She is a two-time conference Player of the Year and all-academic selection, and volunteered with the River of Life homeless shelter and through UH’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
HPU men beat Menlo in basketball
Darry Jones and Justin Long scored 18 points each to help the Hawaii Pacific men’s basketball team beat Menlo 69-61 on Friday at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena.
Malte Ziegenhagen scored 16 points, and Lief Rodney added 10 points for the Sea Warriors (5-2). Charles Barnes hit six 3-pointers and finished with 19 points for Menlo (2-9).
» Alex Williams’ steal and layup with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Lake Superior State men’s basketball team to a 74-73 overtime win over Brigham Young-Hawaii on Thursday in Laie.
BYUH’s Jordan Ngatai scored with four seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 70 and force overtime. Derek Billing had 29 points for the Lakers (10-1), and Williams had 10. Luke Aston had 18 points, and Ford scored 17 for the Seasiders (3-5). Ford missed a 3-point attempt with three seconds left in overtime.
