Bricio, Hagglund earn Pac-12 honors
After a successful trip to the Bay Area that netted victories at Stanford and Cal, sophomore outside hitter Samantha Bricio and senior libero Natalie Hagglund were named Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.
Lead the way · Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Bricio leads the Women of Troy with 266 kills and 61 service aces this season. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan
Bricio, a sophomore from Guadalajara, Mexico, earns the offensive honor for the first time this season, after picking up five selections for Freshman of the Week last season. Bricio scored 18 points on Wednesday against Stanford to go with a career-high 23 digs. She also recorded two service aces in the match to help the Women of Troy to a thrilling five-set victory.
On Friday against Cal, Bricio played perhaps her best match of the season, recording five service aces to put her season total up to 61 -— good enough to break USC’s single-season record for service aces. In addition to her team-high 25 points in the match, Bricio took part in the Women of Troy’s stout defensive effort as well. Her four solo blocks led the team, and she contributed for four assisted blocks to lead the team with eight total blocks.
Hagglund, a senior looking to lead her team to the national championship in her final season, added to an already-stellar career during the week. In the first match at Stanford, she recorded 36 digs in five sets and tacked on a service ace to help the team on the offensive end. Hagglund outdid herself in the next match against Cal, recording the same amount of digs in just four sets. With 2,131 career digs, Hagglund has now moved into fifth all-time on the Pac-12 digs leaderboard and will continue to climb as the season nears its end.
Bricio’s most recent selection is the second of her career, and Hagglund’s defensive selection is the fifth of her career. With one more selection for a weekly award, Hagglund would become the most decorated Trojan ever in this category. USC has now received 57 weekly honors since the award’s inception in 1986.
The Women of Troy have two home matches this weekend, as they take on the Oregon Ducks on Friday and the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday at the Galen Center.
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