Adrianna Culbert’s nickname is “LeBron James.” Now she might have enough hardware to compare to the NBA All-Star forward.
Culbert was named Mountain West Volleyball Player of the Year Monday, marking the seventh year in a row that a CSU player has been named the Mountain West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.
Culbert is joined on the All-Mountain West team by senior Alex Reid, junior Acacia Andrews, sophomore Alexandra Poletto and senior Jaime Colaizzi. Culbert, Reid, Andrews and Poletto were named to the 18-player all-conference team, while Colaizzi was one of six players named honorable mention. Reid, a transfer from Long Beach State, was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year.
In the Mountain West’s 17-year history, a CSU player has been named player of the year 11 times: Angela Knopf (2000, 2001), Melissa Courtney (2003, 2004), Mekana Barnes(2007), Danielle Minch (2009, 2010), Katelyn Steffan (2011), Dana Cranston (2012), Samantha Peters (2013), Deedra Foss (2014) and Culbert (2015). Culbert is the first unanimous Mountain West Player of the Year since Steffan in 2011.
Culbert set the league and school records this season with an astonishing eight triple-doubles, and recorded the first quadruple double in the NCAA in more than five years. Culbert was named Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year in August.
Reid, in her first and only season at CSU after playing three years at Long Beach State, led the Rams in kills (3.18, fifth in MW), points (3.71, sixth in MW) and was second on the team in digs (2.89). Reid also recorded eight double-doubles this season, and was named the league’s offensive player of the week on Sept. 28.
Andrews led the Mountain West and ranks 21st nationally in hitting percentage (.403), and eclipsed the .400 hitting mark in 15 matches this season. Andrews was regularly one of CSU’s biggest offensive weapons, including a career-best 18-kill performance in four sets at Air Force on Nov. 5. She also recorded her first career double-double at San Jose State on Oct. 17, tallying 10 kills and a career-best 12 blocks. Andrews received one weekly honor from the league this year, getting defensive player of the week recognition on Oct. 5.
Poletto led the team and ranked third in the league in blocks, averaging 1.33 per set. Poletto was also an efficient attacker, ranking second on the team and fourth in the conference with a .341 hitting percentage. Poletto earned three weekly league awards this season, receiving the defensive honor twice and the offensive award once. Poletto tallied 12 blocks in three sets against Fresno State on Nov. 21, tying the school record for most blocks in a three-set match.
Colaizzi will finish her CSU career ranking second in total digs and digs per set in program history. Colaizzi will also lead the team in digs for the third year in a row, becoming only the third player in program history to do so. Colaizzi is averaging 4.12 digs per set this season.
Collegian Sports Staff can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com
