WALNUT CREEK – Cal State L.A.’s Mary Laupepa has been named the Molten/ California Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 9-15, the conference announced on Monday.
Laupepa hit at a .529 percentage while helping the Golden Eagles post important conference wins over Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State to conclude the regular-season. The victories also enabled Cal State L.A. to earn the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Division II West Region playoffs that begin Thursday in San Bernardino.
Laupepa had 10 kills in 13 swings with no errors while hitting .769 in a four-set win over Cal State Stanislaus on Wednesday. She also had four service aces in that match. She followed that up with nine kills, a .381 hitting percentage, three digs and seven blocks (one solo and six assists) in a four-set victory over Chico State on Saturday.
For the week, she had 19 kills in 34 attempts with four aces, four digs and eight blocks.
Cal State L.A. will open the NCAA playoffs on Thursday with a match against No. 3 seed Sonoma State at noon on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino. The Golden Eagles, who have won 12 of their last 14 matches, split a pair of contests with Sonoma State this season with each team winning on its home floor. Sonoma State is ranked No. 18 in the country and Cal State L.A. is No. 19 in the most recent AVCA national rankings.