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Dante Estrada | Long Beach Current<\/p>\n
Defying its preseason expectations<\/a>, Long Beach State women\u2019s volleyball is engaged in a heated race with UC Davis and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for the No. 1 seed of the Big West. Will Beach stars like redshirt freshman opposite Logan King<\/a> and sophomore setter Madi Maxwell<\/a> take home any of the coveted conference awards?<\/p>\n With just two weeks remaining until the conclusion of the Big West women\u2019s volleyball regular season, this week\u2019s edition of\u00a0 \u201cCatching The Wave\u201d predicts which stars will take home individual hardware.\u00a0<\/p>\n Freshman of the Year: Logan King, LBSU<\/p>\n Starting with the least debatable of the four major Big West awards this season, LBSU\u2019s five-time Freshman of the Week has been the clear-cut best first-year in the conference.\u00a0<\/p>\n King ranks third in the Big West with 3.55 kills per set and is the driving force of a Beach offense that leads the conference in both kills and points per set.\u00a0<\/p>\n Setter of the Year: Madi Maxwell, LBSU<\/p>\n The most tightly-contested award race in the Big West this season is between LBSU\u2019s own Maxwell and UC Davis setter Mia Starr<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n True to her name, Starr has starred for the Aggies with 10.32 assists per set, ranked 22nd in the nation and leading the Big West.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Maxwell\u2019s case for the award is in her versatility, as the sophomore setter has two triple-doubles to her name, ranks 13th in the conference digs and 20th in service aces while also averaging 9.22 assists per set.<\/p>\n With each star setter having legitimate claims to the award, this column argues the tiebreaker should be Maxwell\u2019s offense grading out higher than Starr\u2019s in every metric, as LBSU ranks above UC Davis in kills, hitting percentage and assists.\u00a0<\/p>\n