Arntson Named West Region Player of the Year, Three Others Earn Honors
Posted: Nov 09, 2017

Arntson Named West Region Player of the Year, Three Others Earn Honors

2017 AVCA All-Region Press Release

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Just a day before the No. 6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's volleyball team takes the floor in the NCAA Regionals, four Athenas were named All-West Region by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Margaux Arntson (CMC) led the group with her West Regional Player of the year honors. Joining Arntson on the All-Region team were classmates, Clara Madsen (CMC) and Mikena Werner (SC). Shelbi Stein (CMC) joined the trio with an Honorable Mention nod.

The Regional Player of the Year award for Arntson comes just a week after she was named the Athlete of the Year in the SCIAC. The All-Region accolade is the first of her career for Arntson, who currently has 266 kills and a .326 hitting percentage in 25 matches heading into the NCAA Tournament. In nine of her 14 conference matches this season, Arntson collected double-digit kills, including a season-high 23 in a five-set tilt with Chapman on Sept. 23.

The All-Region nod for Mikena Werner is the second-straight for the senior libero. Werner led the SCIAC in the regular season with 5.04 digs per set and has accumulated a total of 489 digs on the season. In addition to her strong defensive numbers, Werner has collected triple-digit assists with 123 in 28 matches this season. She is third on the team in total assists and is second on the squad with 37 service aces.

Clara Madsen earned her first career All-Region accolade in 2017. Madsen currently has 623 assists and 46 service aces, both marks are tops for the Athenas this season. On the season, Madsen has registered six double-doubles including a 25 assist, 10 dig performance in the SCIAC Finals against Cal Lutheran (Nov. 4). She collected a season-high six service aces against Chapman on Oct. 20.

Shelbi Stein also earned recognition on Thursday tabbed as an Honorable Mention All-Region Player. Stein is fresh off an impressive SCIAC Tournament where she earned Most Valuable Player honors by tallying 19 kills, a .381 hitting percentage, and six block assists across a pair of sweeps to lead the Athenas to the 2017 SCIAC Tournament Title.  On the season, Stein has a .315 hitting percentage and 182 kills.

The Athenas will start the NCAA Tournament tomorrow afternoon when they take on Texas-Dallas at 5:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. PT in Georgetown, Texas.