Nov. 29, 2011

STANFORD, Calif. - Four Stanford women's volleyball players have been honored with all-conference selections today when the annual Pac-12 awards were announced by Commissioner Larry Scott.

Stanford sophomores Rachel Williams and Carly Wopat were named to the 14-player All-Pac-12 Conference team. It is the second career honors for the pair, who both were selected to the All-Freshman team in 2010. Junior setter Karissa Cook is an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention pick, earning all-conference honors for the second time in her career. She was an All-Freshman pick in 2009.

Williams, a native of Los Gatos, Calif., leads the Cardinal with 4.32 kills per set (fifth in the Pac-12) and 4.94 points per set (fifth in the Pac-12). She leads the conference this season with 19 double-doubles on the year and has registered eight 20-plus kills matches. She set new career highs with 24 kills and 22 digs against Duke in the Stanford Invitational. She was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after wins over Penn State and Florida in the Nike Big Four Volleyball Classic. She was named the MVP of the Stanford Invitational and Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic, as well as being named to the Rice Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Wopat hails from Santa Barbara, Calif., and is the Pac-12 leader in blocks per set (1.59), which ranks third nationally. She ranks third in the conference with a .393 hitting percentage and 10th with 4.11 points per set. She has earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first player to garner both accolades this season. She posted a career high 22 kills versus Cal in the regular season finale, and recorded a career-best 11 blocks against Oregon State. She was selected to the Rice Invitational, Stanford Invitational and Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic All-Tournament teams.

Cook has controlled the offense from the setter position for the Cardinal this season. The Santa Cruz, Calif., native is averaging 11.36 assists per set (fourth in the Pac-12) and 3.10 digs per set. She has also registered 95 kills and 72 blocks this season. She is second in the Pac-12 with 18 double-doubles. She was named the AVCA National Player of the Week on Oct. 18 and has been selected both the Pac-12 Offensive and Pac-12 Defensive Players of the Week this season. She was the MVP of the Rice Invitational and garnered All-Tournament honors at the Stanford Invitational and the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic.

Redshirt freshman Lydia Bai was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman Team. The Irvine, Calif., native is third on the team this season with 1.96 kills per set and 2.38 points per set. She hit a career high .588 (10-0-17) versus Colorado and posted a career-best 16 kills at Arizona State.

USC, which finished atop the Pac-12 standings with a 20-2 conference record, took home four of the five individual awards. The Trojans' Alex Jupiter was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, Kendall Bateman was selected as Setter of the Year, Natalie Hagglund was chosen Libero of the Year and Mick Haley snagged Coach of the Year honors. Washington's Krista Vansant was named Freshman of the Year.

Stanford begins postseason play at home on Friday, taking on Northeast Conference Champion Sacred Heart in the first round at 7 p.m. Baylor and Michigan will square off in the other first round match at Maples Pavilion, with first serve set for 4:30 p.m. The winners will meet at 7 p.m. on Saturday for a chance to advance to the Gainesville Regional.