SAN MATEO, Calif. – Five members of the Gonzaga volleyball team were named WCC All-Conference as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon. Senior Sarah Penner and sophomore Alyssa Hughes were named All-WCC Second Team while Tia Andaya, Kennedy Croft and Chapin Gray all took home All-WCC Honorable Mention honors.
 
Penner and Hughes' second team honor are the first for Gonzaga since the 1998 season, and it marks the first time a Zag has been selected first or second team since 2016 when Emmy Allen was selected All-WCC First Team.
 
For Penner, the honor is the fourth All-WCC of her career after earning All-Freshman Team honors in 2017 and All-WCC Honorable Mention in 2018 and 2019. This season, Penner led the Zags in kills (191), kills per set (2.65), service aces (26) and attempts (590) while ranking second in digs (217), digs per set (3.01) and total blocks (48). The Sherwood, Ore., native reached double-figure kills 12 times in the shortened season while logging double-figure digs on 11 occasions. She added eight double-doubles (kills, digs) and collected a season-high 23 digs in the first match of the season at Pacific on Feb. 5.
 
Hughes took home her first All-WCC honor with her second team recognition. The sophomore middle blocker led the second-best blocking program in the West Coast Conference at the net with team highs in total blocks (72.0), solo blocks (9) and block assists (63). She led the conference in total blocks on the season (72), and she ranked third in the conference in blocks per set (1.07) and solo blocks with nine. Hughes also led the squad and ranked fourth in the conference in hitting percentage at .328, connecting for 134 kills off 287 attempts with just 40 errors on the year. The sophomore finished with a hitting percentage over .400 six times on the season with a season-high .571 coming at Saint Mary's on Feb. 14.
 
Andaya, Croft and Gray all collected their first All-WCC honors as well. With three All-WCC Honorable Mention selection, it's the largest group of all conference honorable mention selections since 2007 when three Zags were also named honorable mention: Heather Dunn, Becky Jones and Briawna Mueller.
 
Andaya finished the 2021 spring season ranking second in the conference in assists (699) while ranking fifth in the WCC in assists per set (9.58). Her 9.58 assists per set also ranks 10th all-time during the rally scoring era for assists per set in a single season. The sophomore from Ellensburg, Wash., added 169 digs on the season to rank third on the squad with a 2.32 per set average. She finished with at least 30 assists in 14 of 18 matches on the year with 40+ on eight different occasions including a career-high 58 in a five-set loss to Saint Mary's on Feb. 15. Andaya added eight double-doubles (assists, digs) on the season.
 
Despite missing six matches due to injury, Croft ranked fourth on the squad in kills (128) and third in digs per set (2.84) while ranking second in points per set at 2.94. The junior from Tumwater, Wash., finished with double-figure kills nine times on the season with a season-high 16 coming in a five-set win at Loyola Marymount on Feb. 22. She also posted double-figure kills on seven different occasions—recording six double-doubles in the process (kills, digs)—with a season-high 21 digs coming in a four-set loss at San Francisco on March 20.
Gray, a senior outside hitter out of Phoenix, Ariz., ranked second on Gonzaga in kills with 177 on the season hitting .223. Gray also ranked third on the team in points per set with 2.93. This season, she finished with double-figure kills 11 times on the season with a career-high 21 kills at Pepperdine on March 6. Gray added 20.0 blocks on the season to rank sixth on the team.
 
Gonzaga closed the 2021 shortened season with a 7-11 overall record, playing all 18 matches against WCC opponents. The Zags picked up match wins against Pacific, Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara and San Francisco while sweeping Portland to close the season on March 27 and 28. With the conclusion of the 2021 campaign, the Zags will lose six seniors to graduation: Claire Barbe, Gretchen Rudel, Sarah Penner, Chapin Gray, Julia Talarico and Katelyn Oppio.
 

2020-21 WCC Volleyball Major Honors
Player of the Year: Whitney Bower, So., S – BYU
Libero of the Year: Madison Shields, Jr., LIB – Pepperdine
Setter of the Year: Whitney Bower, So., S – BYU
Freshman of the Year: Meg Brown, Fr., MB – Pepperdine
Coach of the Year: Heather Olmstead – BYU
2020-21 All-WCC Volleyball First Team
Name	Institution	Yr.	Pos.
Rachel Ahrens	Pepperdine	Jr.	OH/OPP
Taylen Ballard-Nixon	BYU	Sr.	OH
Isabella Bareford	LMU	Fr.	S
Whitney Bower	BYU	So.	S
Meg Brown	Pepperdine	Fr.	MB
Anna Dalla Vecchia	San Francisco	Sr.	L
Kennedy Eschenberg	BYU	Sr.	MB
Thana Fayad	San Diego	Gr.	OH
Grace Frohling	San Diego	So.	OPP/S
Kari Geissberger	LMU	Fr.	OH
Kate Grimmer	BYU	So.	OPP
McKenna Marshall	San Francisco	Jr.	OH
Julia Sangiacomo	Santa Clara	So.	OH
Shannon Scully	Pepperdine	Sr.	OH
Roxie Wiblin	San Diego	Sr.	OH
Isabel Zelaya	Pepperdine	So.	S/OPP
2020-21 All-WCC Volleyball Second Team
Name	Institution	Yr.	Pos.
Madi Allen	BYU	Fr.	L
Alyssa Hughes	Gonzaga	So.	MB
Katie Lukes	San Diego	Jr.	OH
Sarah Penner	Gonzaga	Sr.	OH
Madison Shields	Pepperdine	Jr.	L
Mary Shroll	LMU	Fr.	DS
2020-21 All-WCC Volleyball Honorable Mention
Name	Institution	Yr.	Pos.
Tia Andaya	Gonzaga	So.	OH/S
Aylen Ayub	San Francisco	Fr.	S
Elena Baka	Saint Mary's	So.	OH
Rose Booth	LMU	So.	OH
Kennedy Croft	Gonzaga	Jr.	OH
Chapin Gray	Gonzaga	Sr.	OH
Hawley Harrer	Saint Mary's	Jr.	OPP
Audrey Klemp	LMU	Fr.	S/OPP
Jennifer 'Boo' Laird	Saint Mary's	Sr.	MB
Erin Livingston	BYU	Fr.	OH
Michelle Shaffer	Santa Clara	Jr.	S/OPP
Sophia Tulino	Santa Clara	Fr.	OH
Emmelyn Walters	LMU	So.	MB
Mia Wesley	Portland	Fr.	OH
Carey Williams	Portland	Sr.	DS/L
2020-21 All-WCC Freshman Team
Name	Institution	Pos.
Madi Allen	BYU	LIB
Isabella Bareford	LMU	S
Meg Brown	Pepperdine	MB
Leilani Dodson	BYU	OH
Kari Geissberger	LMU	OH
Erin Livingston	BYU	OH
Sophia Tulino	Santa Clara	OH