Hawaii senior Emily Hartong is a step closer to becoming a two-time first-team All-American after being named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Pacific North Region Team on Tuesday. Freshman teammate Nikki Taylor received honorable mention.
The 140 all-region selections — 14 players from 10 regions — are eligible for All-America honors next week.
Hartong played in every match during her UH career, which ended Saturday when the Rainbow Wahine lost to Brigham Young in the NCAA tournament’s second round. She started at middle blocker her first two seasons and outside hitter her last two. She was a second-team All-American as a sophomore and first team last year, when she was 10th in the country in kills.
The two-time Big West Player of the Year ranks seventh now, at 4.69 kills a set, and eighth in points (5.24).
Voting is done by position and Hartong was second in the region to Washington’s Krista Vansant. Taylor, a 6-foot-3 opposite out of Kaiser High, was 11th. She averaged 2.7 kills — second on the team — and ranked 10th in the BWC with a .287 hitting percentage.
Honolulu’s Carly Kan, a freshman at Missouri, made the All-Southeast Region Team. She led the point list at outside hitter, where all 24 eligible coaches voted for her, and received 20 of 25 first-place votes for Freshman of the Year. That gives her a shot at National Freshman of the Year.
The 5-foot-9 Punahou graduate was the only SEC player to average three kills and three digs a set and finished second on her team in kills (384), with a .364 hitting percentage. Kan is listed as a defensive specialist on the Mizzou roster.
Hawaii’s Mita Uiato, an all-region selection last season, did not repeat.
She tied for fifth in points among setters in the Pacific North. The top two — Stanford’s Madi Bugg and Colorado State’s Deedra Foss — earned all-region honors. Two liberos also made it, but Wahine Ali Longo, who tied for second in the voting, was left out.
"Ali was the glue that kept us all together," Hartong said. "She was a force on the court, constantly talking, making people comfortable, firing people up. And not only that, she is an amazing player, the best libero I’ve ever played with. Every part of her game was on point. She was a really great teammate to have."
The Pacific North’s Freshman of the Year was Washington State’s Kyra Holt. Tom Hilbert of Colorado State was Coach of the Year.
Arizona’s Penina Snuka —who played for Kahuku her senior year — came up second in the Pacific South freshman voting. She also tied for second in points among setters — behind Cal State Northridge’s Sydney Gedryn — and earned honorable mention.
Notes
» Seven of the Big Ten’s eight tournament teams are playing in this week’s regionals, with Michigan the only loser. The Pac-12, which got a conference-record nine teams in, is left with only three. None of the SEC’s eight teams made it out of the first week.
» There is no AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll until the final one Dec. 23. Hawaii, which rose as high as fifth two months ago, is 11th in the most recent poll, from last week.
» Jane Croson, who started for UH two years before transferring to Arizona last summer, also saw her season end Saturday. The Wildcats were swept by ninth-seeded San Diego. Croson had eight kills and five digs, hitting .160 — five points better than her season percentage.