Four Eagles from the CUI women's volleyball were recognized by the PacWest conference with Brianna Latigue making First-Team All-PacWest and Kirra Schulz, Hannah Tostado, and Jalyssa Sanchez named Second-Team All-PacWest.

Setter Brianna Latigue led CUI with 958 assists with 9.58 assists per set while being named PacWest Player of the Week. Latigue made history with a school record of 54 assists in a five set contest against NNU in September. The San Jose, California native finished with over 35 assists in the last four matches of the season. Latigue played a big role defensively for the Eagles and recorded 240 digs and 28 blocks. 

Latigue said, “I would advise incoming collegiate volleyball players to work hard and actively make an effort to be a good teammate.” She added, “There are plenty of highs and lows throughout a season, but you can always look back and know you gave it your all, and at the end of the day that’s what matters.”

Junior Kirra Schulz led the Green and Gold in kills with 310 with an average of 3.26 kills per set along with 351 points. The San Clemente native is second on the team in both digs and aces with totals 279 and 32. Schulz was fifth in the PacWest with 32 aces and 0.35 aces per set while having her career-high of five aces on two different occasions in the beginning of the season. The outside hitter had a double-double night in 14 different matches over the season. Schulz recorded a career-high of 21 kills against Hawai'i Pacific and 20 digs in a five set thriller versus Point Loma.

Hannah Tostado finished second in the entire PacWest conference with .353 hitting percentage right behind teammate Sanchez. The senior led the Eagles with 88 total blocks and 23 of those being solo blocks. Tostado was named the PacWest Defender of the Week. Tostado had 147 kills on the year and tallied at least one dig in 25 of the 27 matches played for the Eagles. Tostado was also a threat behind the service line with 24 aces. The Whittier native had a career-high of seven solo blocks against Point Loma in October. 

Throughout Tostado’s collegiate career, she has learned, “Being together as a team can lead to great success and that is what happened for us this season.” Latigue’s advice to players was, “Do not be afraid to show your true self, know that the team that you will have will have no judgment and they will always be there for you.” She added, “As you become a part of the team, you become family.”

Jalyssa Sanchez led the entire PacWest conference with a .371 hitting percentage and was third on the team with 238.5 points for the Eagles. Sanchez finished the 2021 season with four straight double-digit kills. The Whittier native was unstoppable up at the net with hitting over .300 16 different times for the Eagles. Defensively, Sanchez had 65 blocks and a career-high of four solo blocks at Holy Names.

The CUI women's volleyball finished the 2021 season with a strong push going 11-2 their last 13 games. The Eagles finished 15-5 in the PacWest conference and 20-7 overall. This season is their highest finish since 2016 where they were the PacWest regular season champions.

Tags: women's athletics, volleyball, team

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