It is not every day that athletic history is made. For the first time in school history, an Idaho volleyball player has been awarded WAC Preseason Player of the Year. Junior middle blocker Alyssa Schultz became the first Vandal to earn the honor Aug. 20.
“It is a preseason award but I think it says a lot for what she’s done and how she’s developed over the last couple of years,” Idaho coach Debbie Buchanan said. “She’s going to be a force for us this year. She’s going to be one of the most physical kids in the conference.”
Although the honor is the first of its kind for the Vandals, it should come as no surprise to those who have seen Schultz play. In 2012, she earned first-team All-WAC honors as a sophomore after averaging 2.19 kills, 1.42 blocks and 0.54 digs per set. She also hit .340 and had 138 block assists on the season.
Schultz has been impressing since her freshman season when she earned WAC all-freshman team honors in 2011.
“It’s an honor and it’s really exciting for me but at the same time I have to come to practice, I have to work as hard and harder than everyone else, I have to prove myself every game like everyone else,” Schultz said. “Hopefully in the end I can earn that honor but we also had two other girls earning preseason WAC honors and I expect to have more than just the three of us at the end.”
The other two Vandals to make the preseason All-WAC team were senior middle blocker Taylor Wilkinson and sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Peterson.
Wilkinson was a star of the 2012 WAC tournament after two 10-kill, five-block matches helped her earn WAC all-tournament team honors and lead the Vandals to a second place finish. The Vandals were picked to finish second again this year after runner-up finishes each of the last two seasons.
“We’re proud that we were picked second but in the end our goal is to finish first in the WAC,”
Schultz said. “We were so close last year, we almost could taste it so this year is our goal to get there.”
Peterson, the third preseason All-WAC honoree, earned WAC all-freshman team honors during her debut 2012 season. She averaged 1.81 kills, 0.70 digs and 0.22 blocks per set while posting six double-digit kill matches. Peterson’s season-high was 17 kills.
The preseason All-WAC trio steps into the leadership position for the Vandals this season after the squad lost six seniors from 2012. There will be more pressure on Schultz and the two team seniors but Buchanan has confidence in her team.
“She’s always going to be one of the best players in the conference,” Buchanan said of Schultz. “On top of that she can play defense, she can serve and she’s a great leader.”
The Vandals open their season at the Wyoming Invite on Friday where they will play four teams in two days.
“We come hard every day,” Schultz said. “We have some new girls that bring a lot of competitiveness to our team so we’re looking great and I’m really excited to see how we match up to other teams.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]