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Setter Grace Talpash of Chaminade and libero Tani Hoke of Hawaii Hilo were honored by the Pacific West Conference on Monday, as Talpash was named the Player of the Week and Hoke the Defender of the Week.
Talpash led Chaminade to wins over Azusa Pacific and Westmont over the weekend, helping the Silverswords stay undefeated in PacWest play at 8-0, while improving to 15-4 overall. Talpash tallied 49 assists in a four-set win over Azusa Pacific and had 28 more in a sweep of Westmont. She also had 15 digs, nine kills and a pair of service aces.
Hoke had a season-high 27 digs in Hilo’s five-set win over Azusa Pacific, then added 15 digs in a sweep of Biola.
Chaminade also remained at No. 10 in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Justin repeats with defensive honor
Hawaii goalkeeper Kennedy Justin repeated as the Big West Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, following a pair of shutout results at UC San Diego and UC Irvine last week.
The redshirt freshman has logged five straight shutouts, the longest streak ever by a Hawaii goalkeeper. She has also gone 453 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal, dating back to Sept. 22 against Hawaii Pacific.
Justin saved seven shots in Hawaii’s 1-0 win over UC San Diego, and had three more in a 0-0 draw against UC Irvine.
She is the first player in the conference this year to win Defensive Player of the Week honors back-to-back and the first Hawaii player to do so since Alexis Mata in 2017. She is also the first player since Mata in 2019 to earn multiple Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors in a season.
