Silvernail Earns National Volleyball Honor

Sarah Silvernail has returned to the national spotlight.

Silvernail, Washington State’s 6-foot-1 senior middle blocker, a second-team All-American last season, is the American Volleyball Coaches Association national player of the week at the Division I level.

In leading the 11th-ranked Cougars past No. 23 UCLA and No. 12 USC last weekend in Pullman, she also earned her third Pacific-10 Conference player of the week award this season - and second in three weeks.

It’s the sixth time in her career that Silvernail has earned a weekly conference honor, tying her for second place in career conference awards with former three-time All-America Daiva Tomkus of UCLA.

Silvernail hit .405 with 55 kills, 19 digs, 15 blocks, three aces and two assists during the weekend despite playing with a pulled ligament in her lower back.

With a conference-leading 5.80 average, she is on track to break the Pac-10 record for kills per game. The mark is 5.37. She ranks second in the league with a .400 hitting percentage.

College men’s soccer

With some big assists from his friends, Brett Fink scored twice to give Community Colleges of Spokane a 2-0 win over Bellevue on Monday.

Keeper Dustin Pilcher and Paul Johnson set up Fink for his first goal and he converted Donovan Hodgson’s crossing pass for his second.

The win at home clinched the North Division title for CCS (16-3-1) and earned it a spot in the semifinals of the league tournament next week. Bellevue (12-3-5) is second.

College women’s soccer

Meagan Michelbook and Katie Snow each had two goals and an assist to spark CC Spokane past Green River 4-1 at SFCC.

The 14-1-4 Sasquatch, who wind up league play at home Wednesday against Edmonds, clinched second place in the North Division and a spot in the semifinals of the league tournament next week in Bothell.

College golf

Don Rasmussen, who coached the Idaho golf teams for two years until last August, is returning.

Rasmussen, the head professional at the University of Idaho Golf Course since relinquishing his coaching duties in late summer, was asked back to replace Dan Koesters, who left to coach at Washington State.

Rasmussen will also continue to be the University course’s head pro.

Men’s basketball

Former Pepperdine guard Shann Ferch scored 31 points for the NBC Thunder of Spokane Monday night in a 76-70 men’s exhibition loss at Saint Louis University.

, DataTimes