Three Long Beach State Pairs Named All-Big West First Team

5/10/2021 5:10:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Long Beach State had three pairs honored with Big West First Team selections.

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State had three pairs honored with Big West First Team selections, the conference announced on Monday.

Mari Molina and Tyler Spriggs were awarded the honor representing Long Beach State in the first flight all season long. The duo went 19-10 in the 2021 season marking the third most wins for a first flight pair in a single-season. The junior-senior combination posted a .655 winning percentage for the season, the second-best on the Beach this year.

Skyler Germann and Makenzie Griffin earned the honor after turning heads at the Big West Championships. The pair did not play together in a dual until the final week of the regular season, but went 6-1 in their seven matches. The duo was a perfect 6-0 until the semi-final dual against Cal Poly in the conference tournament.

Katie Kennedy and Nicci Reinking were the third and final pair earning First Team honors for the Beach. The duo went 12-12 in their duals throughout the season, but closed out the season with a 3-2 record in the Big West Championships.

For Molina and Reinking, this marks the second time in their careers the seniors have been awarded First Team selections. Reinking also has an Honorable Mention award to her name from 2018.

The three Big West First Team selections are the most ever for Long Beach State. Previously, the Beach had two pairs earn First Team honors in both 2018 and 2019.

2021 Big West Pairs Team of the Year
Emilly Sonny & Macy Gordon, Cal Poly
2021 Big West Freshman of the Year
Amber Igiede, Hawai'i
2021 Big West Coach of the Year
Todd Rogers, Cal Poly

FIRST TEAM
Player School Year Hometown
Emily Sonny/Macy Gordon                             Cal Poly                     Senior/Junior              Arroyo Grande, Calif./Paradise Valley, Az.
Amber Igiede/Brooke Van Sickle                   Hawai'i                        Freshman/Junior        Baton Rouge, La./Battle Ground, Wash.
Mari Molina/Tyler Spriggs                              Long Beach State       Senior/Senior              Corte Madera,Calif./Los Angeles, Calif.
Amy Ozee/Jayelin Lombard                           Cal Poly                      Graduate/Soph.          Haiku, Maui, Hawai'i/Indio, Calif.
Makenzie Griffin/Skyler Germann                  Long Beach State       Senior/Freshman        Jourdanton, Texas/Minnetonka, Minn.
Mariah Whalen/Tia Miric                                Cal Poly                      Junior/Junior               Wausau, Wisc./Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Paloma Bowman/Colleen McGuire                UC Davis                    Junior/Freshman        Vacaville, Calif./Naperville, Ill.
Cameron Solberg/Milicia Vukobrat                CSU Bakersfield          Junior/Junior               Bollingbrook, Ill./Novi Sad, Serbia
Pani Napoleon/Jaime Santer                         Hawai'i                        Soph./Freshman         Bonita, Calif./Toronto, Canada
Kaylee Glagau/Ilihia Huddleston                    Hawai'i                        Freshman/Freshman Mississauga, Canada/Oceanside, Calif.
Katie Kennedy/Nicci Reinking                        Long Beach State       Sophomore/Senior     Hood River, Ore./Fountain Valley, Calif.

HONORABLE MENTION
Player School Year Hometown
Darbi Honeycutt/Mikaela Maughan               CSUN                          Junior/Junior               Phoenix, Az./Bakersfield, Calif.
Emily Hansen/Hana Makonova                     CSU Bakersfield         Senior/Junior              Bakersfield, Calif./Sokolov, Czech Republic
Eleonore Johansen/Sam Strah                      Cal Poly                      Junior/Freshman         Los Altos, Calif./Capitola, Calif.
Sofia Russo/Anna Maidment                         Hawai'i                        Soph./Freshman         Cherry Hill, N.J./Winnipeg, Canada