Nov. 14, 2001

PROVO, Utah - Two UNLV volleyball players were honored with all-conference honors at the 2001 Mountain West Conference Tournament banquet Wednesday night.

Junior middle blocker Blair Wilkes was named to the 12-member all conference team after leading the Rebels with 248 kills and a .380 attack-percentage. In conference play, she finished the regular season with 166 kills and a .430 attack percentage.

Sheila Ocasio-Clemente was named MWC Freshman of the Year. She has led the nation in blocks per game for the entire 2001 season and currently boasts a 2.04 bpg average. She also added 137 kills during the regular season. Ocasio-Clemente is the first freshman ever to lead the Mountain West Conference in a statistical category.

UNLV takes on San Diego State in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at 12:30 p.m. (PST) on Thursday.

2001 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Name               School  Cl.  Pos.  Hometown*Nina Puikkonen    BYU     Sr.  MB    Murray, Utah*Karina Puikkonen  BYU     So.  S     Murray, Utah*Sunny Mahe        BYU     Jr.  OH    Allen, Texas*Courtney Cox      CSU     Sr.  OH    Longmont, Colo.*Angela Knopf      CSU     Jr.  MB    Troutdale, Ore.*Soraya Santos     CSU     Sr.  MB    Vitoria, BrazilKatie Magnuson     SDSU    Sr.  OH    San Diego, Calif.Blair Wilkes       UNLV    Jr.  MB    Las Vegas, Nev.McKelle Stilson    Utah    Sr.  MB    Orangeville, UtahSylva Strzinkova   Utah    Jr.  OH    Brno, Czech Republic*Kim Turner        Utah    So.  MB    Chandler, Ariz.Rachel Lau         WYO     Sr.  MB    Redwood City, Calif.

Freshman of the Year:
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente, UNLV, Fr., MB, Carolina, Puerto Rico
Setter:
*Allison Peckham, CSU, Jr., London, Ontario, Canada
Defensive Specialists:
Robyn Gregg, SDSU, So., Santee, Calif.Uila Crabbe, BYU, So., Mililani, Hawai`i
Player of the Year:
*Angela Knopf, CSU, Sr., MB, Troutdale, Ore.
Coach of the Year:
Tom Hilbert, CSU
(*notes repeat selection)