Utah Volleyball Star Dani Drews Named Pac-12 Player Of The Year
Apr 7, 2021, 5:06 PM
Utah outside hitter Dani Drews (1) celebrates after a point during the fifth set of a first-round volleyball game in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament at the George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (Colter Peterson, Deseret News)
(Colter Peterson, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Utes volleyball star Dani Drews was named Pac-12 Player of the Year on Wednesday afternoon after a spectacular season.
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Dani Drews was a dominant force for Utah volleyball this season, leading the Utes in kills in every match during the regular season. She also led the Pac-12 in kills per set with 5.14.
The two-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week recorded 324 kills in 17 matches played, while getting 20 kills or more in seven matches and 30 kills in two separate matches this season.
Congrats to Dani Drews on being named the @pac12 Player of the Year!!! #UteStrong pic.twitter.com/a8ZFSxITDx
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) April 7, 2021
“For Dani to earn this award during this unique season is a testament to her as an athlete and a person,” head coach Beth Launiere said. “She handled adversity well and continued to perform at a high level week after week. We’re proud of Dani and it is a great honor to our program to a have a Pac-12 Player of the Year.”
Along with being named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Drews was also named to the All-Pac-12 for the third straight season.
“I’m so pleased for all four of our players to be honored as All-Conference by the Pac-12,” Launiere said. “Dani led the Pac-12 in kills during the season from start to finish and does so much for us in every aspect of the game and on our team. Kenzie is one of the top all-around players in the conference and is recognized for this by the Pac-12 coaches. Saige finished the year as the leader in the Pac-12 in assists per set and was top ten in digs per set, the only setter to do this in the conference. She is definitely one of the top setters in the Pac-12. Madi came into our program and added great value from the start and I’m so happy that the Pac-12 coaches recognized her significance to our team.”
Kenzie Koerber was named to the All-Pac-12 team. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres and Madelyn Robinson were named All-Pac-12 Honorable Mentions.
For the second season in a row, @KenzieK101 has been named to the All-Pac-12 Team! #UteStrong pic.twitter.com/06BQO8nipm
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) April 7, 2021
The Utes finished third in the Pac-12 standings with a 13-4 record. They received the No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will have a first round bye. Utah will face the winner of LIU and Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 15 at 8:30 p.m. MT on ESPN3.
Beth Launiere’s program reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season and the 17th overall appearance. It’s also the third time that Utah received a national seed.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.
