Ohwobete is named Big West Player of the Year as UCSB collects several league honors
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Big West announced the All-Conference award winners today, and UC Santa Barbara Women’s Volleyball brought home numerous awards.
Michelle Ohwobete and Macall Peed were two of the biggest award winners. Ohwobete was announced as The Big West’s Player of the Year while earning a spot on the All-Big West First team. The senior outside hitter led the conference in kills while sitting in second in kills per set, totaling 404 throughout the entire season. Along with that, Ohwobete was an all around outside hitter for the Gauchos as she added on 262 digs and 36 aces.
Peed, on the other hand, received Libero of the Year and All-Big West First Team honors for the second straight year. Peed leads the conference in digs and digs per set, totaling 514 this season, which is the 10th-best season for a defensive player in UC Santa Barbara history. She tallied two double-doubles with digs and assists while notching three 30+ dig matches.
Another person received a big award for the Gauchos and that was Head Coach Matt Jones. The first-year head coach was named as The Big West’s Coach of the Year, which was voted on by the other coaches in the conference. In just his first season at the helm of the program, he has led the Gauchos to a 27-3 overall record while going undefeated in The Thunderdome and beating a nationally-ranked program.
As if these three awards were not enough, three more Gauchos were recognized by the conference for their efforts this season. Briana McKnight earned a spot with Ohwobete and Peed on the All-Big West First team while Tasia Farmer received All-Big West Second Team honors. To round out the awards, Andri Kreiling was named an All-Big West Honorable Mention honoree.
UC Santa Barbara will be back in action at The Big West Championships on Friday, Nov. 24. As the No. 1 seed, the Gauchos earned a bye and will head straight to the semifinals to take on the winner of UC Davis and Long Beach State. First serve will be at 4 p.m. with a live stream through ESPN+.
(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)
