UHH’s Strand-Nicolaisen Earns PacWest Volleyball Award

University of Hawai`i at Hilo outside hitter Marley Strand-Nicolaisen was named the Pacific West Conference Women’s Volleyball Freshman of the Week Monday for games played between Oct. 21-27.

Strand-Nicolaisen, a graduate of Ka`u High School, collected a total of 41 kills and five aces as the Vulcans went 1-1 last week.

Last Thursday, Strand-Nicolaisen collected 24 kills and four aces in a five-set loss to Dixie State University. She had 16 errors, hit .090, and added 16 digs. Two nights later, she tied for the team lead with 17 kills while pacing the squad with 18 digs as the Vulcans defeated Academy of Art in four sets. She hit .138 in 58 total attacks.

For the week, Strand-Nicolaisen ranked fourth in the PacWest in points per set (5.28) and kills per set (4.56). She also finished in a tie for eighth place with 0.56 aces per set.

Strand-Nicolaisen leads the team with 3.59 kills per set, 255 total kills, 4.07 points per set, 289 total points, 190 digs, and 2.68 digs per set this season.

The Vulcans, holding an overall record of 7-11 and 2-11 in conference play, host unranked Fresno State tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the UH-Hilo Gymnasium. The match can be heard at ESPNHawaii.com