Arizona freshman Gigi Whann earns Big 12 Volleyball Starting Seven honors
· Yahoo Sports
Arizona volleyball freshman Gigi Whann was named to the Big 12 Starting Seven on Tuesday afternoon.
The Starting Seven includes seven players from across the league who had outstanding weeks. They generally include a player from each position, although this week includes two setters.
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This week’s group included Whann, Arizona State middle blocker Zoey Burgess, Arizona State setter Isabella Costantini, Arizona State outside hitter Una Vajagic, BYU middle blocker Brooke Hardy, Kansas setter Reese Messer, and TCU outside hitter Becca Kelley.
Big 12 Volleyball Starting 7 🏐 pic.twitter.com/fu1zhfhn8P
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Whann joined Rookie of the Week Hardy as the only two freshmen on this week’s list. The award was the first of Whann’s career and Arizona’s first weekly honor of the season.
Whann led the league in total digs (46) and digs per set (7.67) against Houston and UCF last week. She had a career-high 27 in the three-set loss to the Knights.
Whann has taken over as Arizona’s libero in her rookie season. She was one of the top receivers in Division I volleyball the week before last when she averaged a 2.60 passer rating on a 3-point scale.
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The development seen by Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs has made Whann an integral part of this team and the program’s future. While she came in as a strong passer, Whann has improved considerably on defense.
“It’s a matter of getting acclimated to the game and understanding what ball is her ball and what ball she needs to go get and pursue, and once she has started to understand that more, it’s made the game a little bit easier for her,” Stubbs said.
Whann and her teammates will try to put an end to their eight-match losing streak when Utah comes to town on Friday afternoon. They then travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on Sunday, Oct. 8.