Volleyball Players Net All-WAC Accolades

Three Owls volleyball players netted all-Western Athletic Conference honors this fall: Rebeca Pazo was named to the all-WAC first team, while Rebecca Kainz and Briana Cook made the second team.

It was the second time that Pazo has earned a first-team honor—she was named last year’s conference freshman of the year. At press time, the 5'11" outside hitter ranks third in the league against conference opponents with a 5.27 kills per game average. She also ranks in the conference top 10 in hitting percentage (.290), service aces per game (.039), and digs (3.93). She was named the WAC player of the week twice this season and earned all-tournament honors in three of the Owls’ four preseason tournaments, including being named the MVP of the Toyota of Knoxville Lady Vol Classic.

This is the first all-WAC honor for both Kainz and Cook. Kainz earned player of the week honors earlier this season after leading the Owls to their first tournament win since the 1998 season at the Toyota of Knoxville Lady Vol Classic. The 6'3" Kainz has one of the top hitting percentages in the league (.300) and has consistently remained in the top three in blocking with a 1.22 blocks per game average.

Cook also has been solid in the middle for the Owls, checking in with a .309 hitting percentage against WAC foes and posting a 1.35 blocks per game average despite missing Rice’s final three matches of the season due to an injury. The 6'2" native of Houston earned her first all-tournament honor this season at the Georgia Invitational. She will end her career as Rice’s all-time blocks leader and all-time block assists leader, and she ranks fifth in the Rice record books in solo blocks.