Two Zags pick up WCC volleyball honors

For the first time since 2013, multiple Gonzaga volleyball players picked up All-West Coast Conference honors Monday as Payton Mack was named All-WCC Honorable Mention and Sarah Penner earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.

Mack’s Honorable Mention accolade was the first of her two-year career. She started 21 matches at middle blocker in 2017, including all 18 WCC contests. Against conference foes, the Fremont, California, native led the team with 68 blocks – 0.93 a set. She added 1.75 kills a frame and hit .287 during the conference season, just a few percentage points away from the team lead. Mack set career highs of 12 kills (Oct. 5 versus Pepperdine), a .500 attack percentage (Oct. 12 at San Diego) and nine blocks (Sept. 23 versus Pacific) in WCC play as well.

Penner, meanwhile, claimed a spot on the All-Freshman team, the first for a Bulldog since 2013. The outside hitter from Sherwood, Oregon, led all freshmen in the conference with 292 kills this season, a total that’s also second-highest by a Gonzaga freshman during the rally-scoring era. Against conference foes, Penner averaged 2.75 kills every set and hit for a .193 average. She also added 1.70 digs a frame and tallied five double-doubles, the last of which included career highs of 26 kills and 19 digs against Portland Nov. 20.

Mack and Penner are the first Gonzaga duo honored with postseason All-Conference awards since 2013 when Savannah Blinn earned First Team designation and both Imani Wimbush and Lyndsay Palmer were named to the All-Freshman team.