Fresno State Athletics
Volleyball Honored With Three AVCA All-West Region Picks
12/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 11, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. -
The 2002 AVCA All-Region Teams in PDF Format
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A successful season by the Fresno State volleyball team has yielded postseason honors for three Bulldogs who were named to the 2002 American Volleyball Coaches Association's All-West Region Team this morning.
Sophomore outside hitter Kristen Fenton (Marysville, Mich.) was selected to the 12-member all-West Region team while sophomore setter Whitney Arena (West Linn, Ore.) and senior middle blocker Java Johnson (Fresno, Calif.) were honorable mention picks for the West Region.
The three AVCA all-region selections in a season are a first for the Fresno State volleyball program, which had a total of five coming into 2002. For 12th-year head coach Lindy Vivas, the trio is the second multiple all-region winners as she had two in 1991. Overall, Vivas has coached seven of the program's eight all-region honorees.
The last Bulldog to garner all-region honors was outside hitter Diana Nalbandian, who was selected to the 1997 All-District VII Team. Outside hitter Nicole Chen picked up Second Team All-West Region accolades in 1993. In 1991, outside hitter Paola Paz-Soldan and middle blocker Suzie Regul was First Team All-Northwest Region honorees. The first Bulldog to be nationally recognized is current assistant coach Ruth Lawanson, who was named First Team All-Northwest Region as an outside hitter/setter in 1984 and later went on to capture Second Team Asics/Tiger All-America distinction the same year.
Now eligible for All-America consideration, Fenton wrapped up her sophomore season in style as she led the team in kills (403) and kills per game (3.84) while second in hitting (.301) and service aces (36), third in digs (292) and fourth in blocks (66). Missing one match due to the flu, the First Team All-Western Athletic Conference selection ended the year with a streak of 16 consecutive double-figure kill matches in which she averaged 16.31 kills a match for a 4.35 kill per game average. As the first Bulldog to collect WAC Player of the Week honors in three years, Fenton also ended the year with a streak of five double-doubles in which she averaged 19.60 kills and 11.80 digs per match. Hitting .303 in her final 20 matches, she also was selected to the 2002 WAC Volleyball Championship Tournament team while being a two-time all-tourney selection during the regular season.
Arena, who garnered her second straight all-WAC honor after being named first team this fall, averaged nearly 12.00 assists per game (11.86) during the season. Ranking as one of the top four setters in the WAC all season long, she tallied her first 1,000-assist year with 1,127. As a result, Arena cracked the school's Top Five career list for assists as she ranks fifth all-time with 2,124. Named to the 2002 WAC Volleyball Championship Tournament team, she missed three matches due to ankle injuries.
Johnson, a two-year player and starter for the Bulldogs, was the only Bulldog to be named to all three all-tournament teams this season while being one of two 'Dogs who was a preseason all-WAC selection. Nationally ranked in hitting for three weeks, Johnson played in all 30 matches and garnered first team all-WAC honors as a senior. Leading the team in hitting (.333) and finishing second in kills (349) and blocks (132), she broke into the school's Top 10 career list for block assists (No. 9, 182) and total blocks (No. 10, 230). Johnson, who hit .309 (225-59-538) in her last 18 matches, also notched the school's ninth-best mark for total blocks in a season (132).
