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SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- BYU secured its second outright West Coast Conference regular season title, headlining four teams advancing to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Cougars placed two on the All-WCC team and captured three of the four major individual awards.
BYU senior All-American Alexa Gray was voted the 2015 Player of the Year for the second straight year. Fellow Cougar, junior middle blocker Amy Boswell, earned Defender of the Year honors, while Pepperdine's Tarah Wylie took WCC Freshman of the Year accolades. First-year BYU head coach Heather Olmstead was selected as the Coach of the Year. All four major individual awards - including the all-conference and all-freshman teams - were voted on solely by the WCC's 10 head coaches.
A four-time All-WCC selection, Gray not only led the league in kills during conference play (5.59), but also ranked second nationally in kills per set (5.16), was third in the nation for points per set (5.74) and twelfth for total kills (521). Gray is the first WCC student-athlete to earn back-to-back top player honors since San Diego All-American Ali Troost accomplished the feat (2009-10) and is the sixth to win at least two. A Cougar has now captured Player of the Year honors three times in the last four seasons.
Boswell becomes the second straight Cougar to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining teammate Whitney Young Howard (2014). Boswell was a force at the net, leading the WCC in block per set (1.41) during league play and ranked 22nd nationally in blocks per set (1.40) and enters the postseason with 143 blocks as a junior. The Cougars are ranked No. 14 in the nation for blocks per set (2.90).
Wylie was a vital piece to the Waves this season, starting all 31 matches and played every set. During conference play she averaged 1.09 blocks per set with a total of 76. Overall she averaged 1.10 per set, and accumulated 127 blocks. Wylie is the 12th Wave since 1986 to take the honor, the last was voted in 2011 (Samantha Cash).
Olmstead guided BYU (26-3, 16-2) to its second straight outright WCC championship, a No. 15 national ranking, and an automatic berth to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Olmstead succeeded her brother, Shawn, a two-time Coach of the Year and the 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year. BYU is ranked, 12th nationally in hitting percentage (.278), 14th in blocks per set (2.90), 23rd in assists per set (13.31), and 30th for kills per set (14.11). BYU has won its last 24 straight home matches and hosts the first two round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, beginning Friday in Provo.
The 2015 season was highly competitive and no fewer than eight programs managed to place at least one student-athlete on the 12-member All-WCC squad. BYU, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara and San Diego each placed two on the team.
Four West Coast Conference volleyball programs advanced to the 2015 NCAA Tournament: No.15 BYU, No. 28 San Diego, No. 29 Loyola Marymount, and No. 37 Santa Clara. The opening round of the postseason is Thursday, December 3.
2015 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year
Heather Olmstead, BYU
2015 West Coast Conference Player of the Year
Alexa Gray, BYU
2015 West Coast Conference Defender of the Year
Amy Boswell, BYU
2015 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year
Tarah Wylie, Pepperdine
2015 All-WCC Volleyball First Team
| Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
| Savannah Blinn | Sr. | OPP | Gonzaga |
| Amy Boswell | Jr. | MB | BYU |
| Lexi Elman | Jr. | OH | Pacific |
| Canace Finley | Sr. | OH | San Diego |
| Alexa Gray | Sr. | OH | BYU |
| Nikki Hess | Jr. | OH | Santa Clara |
| Lisa Kramer | Jr. | OH | San Diego |
| Emily Liger | Sr. | OH | Portland |
| Kirsten Mead | So. | S | Santa Clara |
| Sarah Sponcil | So. | OH | Loyola Marymount |
| Becca Strehlow | Sr. | S | Pepperdine |
| Hannah Tedrow | Sr. | S | Loyola Marymount |
| | | | |
2015 WCC Volleyball Honorable Mention
Sabrina Clayton, Santa Clara; Kristen Gengenbacher, San Diego; Ciara Parker, BYU; Katarina Pilepic, San Francisco; Danielle Rottman, Santa Clara; Rachelle Suaava, Loyola Marymount; Whitney Young Howard, BYU
2015 All-WCC Volleyball Freshman Team
| Name | Pos. | School |
| Heidi Dyer | OH | Pepperdine |
| Veronica Jones | OH | BYU |
| Lindsey Knudsen | OH | Saint Mary's |
| Anna McCreadie | OPP | Santa Clara |
| Madison Murtagh | MB/OPP | San Francisco |
| Addie Picha | MH | San Diego |
| Tarah Wylie | MB | Pepperdine |