The Pac-12 recognized six Ducks for their contributions to No. 16 Oregon’s impressive 2014 regular season. Outside hitters Liz Brenner and Martenne Bettendorf each received First Team All Pac-12 honors.
Brenner was named to the All Pac-12 Team for the third time in her prolific collegiate career. Brenner has emerged as one of the greatest ever to come through the Oregon volleyball program, as she passed Michele Krebsbach for No. 3 on the Ducks all-time kills list in her final regular season match against Oregon State. She’s now totaled 1,596 career kills despite taking more of a back seat to Oregon’s balanced attack this season.
Although Brenner made a name for herself as Oregon’s most feared offensive player in her first few seasons, she sacrificed some of her offensive firepower to take on a key defensive role for the Ducks in 2014. Brenner leads the program with a .966 reception percentage and her 3.46 digs per set ranks second on the team. She became just the fourth player in school history to accumulate 1,000 kills and 1,000 blocks in her career, and is one of five active Pac-12 players to have accomplished the feat. She recorded double-doubles in 18 of the Ducks’ 30 games this season, ranking fifth-most in the conference. While Brenner has elevated her defensive game this season, she still ranks second on the team behind Bettendorf with 2.88 kills per set.
Brenner was also named one of ten NCAA student-athletes named a finalist for the 2014 Senior CLASS award. To qualify for the honor, one must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have made notable achievements in four areas of excellence–community, classroom, character and competition. The winner will be chosen through nationwide fan voting, and Brenner fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS website through Dec. 8.
This is the first time Bettendorf, a junior, was named to an All Pac-12 Team. Since relocating to the right side of the floor at the beginning of the season, Bettendorf has seen a drastic rise in her offensive numbers. Coming off a 2.71 kills per set average and a .153 hitting percentage last season, Bettendorf now leads the Ducks with 3.82 kills per set and has doubled her hitting percentage to .307. Bettendorf ranks tenth with 3.46 kills per set in Pac-12 play, a conference which qualified a record-breaking ten teams for the NCAA tournament.
Sophomores Amanda Benson and Kacey Nady each received All Pac-12 honorable mentions. Benson, who was named to the All-Freshman Team last year, continues to impress with her invaluable contributions on defense. She leads the team with 491 digs and ranks fourth in the conference with 4.31 digs per set. Like Bettendorf, Nady has made immense strides from last season as an offensive threat. Her hitting percentage has nearly doubled from .176 in 2013 to .341 in 2014, good for ninth-best in conference and second on the team. While ranking fourth on the team with 2.02 kills per set, Nady has also maintained a 3.35 GPA and earned herself a Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention.
Freshman Frankie Shebby was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team due to her outstanding attack in 2014. Shebby’s 2.57 kills per set and 294 points each rank third in the program. Freshman Maggie Scott also received an All-Freshman honorable mention after leading the Ducks with 757 assists per set in her first season. Scott’s 6.64 assists per set ranks ninth in the Pac-12.
No. 16 Oregon will take on Santa Clara (22-9) in Matthew Knight Arena at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The tenth-seeded Ducks, who are 13-3 at home this season, would take on either Oklahoma or LSU at home on Friday with a win.
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