Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
VB | Baka named to Preseason All-WCC Team
1/20/2021 1:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — With the 2021 spring volleyball season set to begin in one week's time, the West Coast Conference has unveiled its Preseason All-WCC Team and Preseason Poll. Elena Baka has been selected as the lone representative for the Gaels on the Preseason All-WCC Team, while the Gaels as a team enter the poll with a sixth-place designation.
A sophomore from Greece, Baka dazzled as a freshman for Saint Mary's during the 2019 indoor season. Her 260 kills on the season were the second most for the Gaels, and she was also a force at the net with 56 total blocks (six solo, 50 assisted). 14 times over the course of the season did Baka record ten or more kills, including a career-best 17 on three different occasions, most recently against Gonzaga on November 9, 2019, the Gaels home finale.
There were some doubts about whether Baka would even be playing for Saint Mary's this indoor season. Following the abbreviated beach season in 2020, Baka was chosen to train with Greece for their beach team at the Tokyo Olympics, which meant she would be away from the team. With the Olympics on paused and delayed until 2021, that gives Baka the opportunity to play for Saint Mary's this season, and the chance to affirm her preseason selection to the All-WCC Team.
After finishing the 2019 indoor season at 11-17, and 7-11 in WCC play, the Gaels make an appearance in the Preseason Poll at the sixth spot. The defending WCC champions, San Diego, took seven of the of the ten first place votes en route to being first in the Preseason Poll. BYU lost just two conference matches during 2019 and they find themselves in second, with Pepperdine taking a pair of first-place votes while sitting in third place.
San Diego leads the way with four players on the Preseason All-WCC team, including reigning WCC Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American Grace Frohling. BYU and Pepperdine have three players each on the team, which has eight of the ten schools represented.
2020-21 WCC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Votes) Points
San Diego (7) 78
BYU (1) 72
Pepperdine (2) 69
Santa Clara 55
Loyola Marymount 50
Saint Mary's 41
Pacific 27
Gonzaga 27
San Francisco 18
Portland 13
2020-21 All-WCC Preseason Volleyball Team
Name Institution Yr. Pos
Rachel Ahrens Pepperdine Jr. OPP
Elena Baka Saint Mary's So. OH
Taylen Ballard-Nixon BYU Sr. OH
Annie Benbow San Diego Jr. LIB
Rose Booth LMU So. OH
Whitney Bower BYU Sr. S
Kennedy Eschenberg BYU Sr. MB
Thana Fayad San Diego Gr. OH
Grace Frohling San Diego Jr. OPP
Katie Lukes San Diego Jr. OH
Riley Patterson Pacific Jr. OH
Sarah Penner Gonzaga Sr. OH/RS
Julia Sangiacomo Santa Clara So. OH
Shannon Scully Pepperdine Sr. OH
Emme Walters LMU So. MB
Isabel Zelaya Pepperdine So. S
#GaelsRise
A sophomore from Greece, Baka dazzled as a freshman for Saint Mary's during the 2019 indoor season. Her 260 kills on the season were the second most for the Gaels, and she was also a force at the net with 56 total blocks (six solo, 50 assisted). 14 times over the course of the season did Baka record ten or more kills, including a career-best 17 on three different occasions, most recently against Gonzaga on November 9, 2019, the Gaels home finale.
There were some doubts about whether Baka would even be playing for Saint Mary's this indoor season. Following the abbreviated beach season in 2020, Baka was chosen to train with Greece for their beach team at the Tokyo Olympics, which meant she would be away from the team. With the Olympics on paused and delayed until 2021, that gives Baka the opportunity to play for Saint Mary's this season, and the chance to affirm her preseason selection to the All-WCC Team.
After finishing the 2019 indoor season at 11-17, and 7-11 in WCC play, the Gaels make an appearance in the Preseason Poll at the sixth spot. The defending WCC champions, San Diego, took seven of the of the ten first place votes en route to being first in the Preseason Poll. BYU lost just two conference matches during 2019 and they find themselves in second, with Pepperdine taking a pair of first-place votes while sitting in third place.
San Diego leads the way with four players on the Preseason All-WCC team, including reigning WCC Freshman of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American Grace Frohling. BYU and Pepperdine have three players each on the team, which has eight of the ten schools represented.
2020-21 WCC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Votes) Points
San Diego (7) 78
BYU (1) 72
Pepperdine (2) 69
Santa Clara 55
Loyola Marymount 50
Saint Mary's 41
Pacific 27
Gonzaga 27
San Francisco 18
Portland 13
2020-21 All-WCC Preseason Volleyball Team
Name Institution Yr. Pos
Rachel Ahrens Pepperdine Jr. OPP
Elena Baka Saint Mary's So. OH
Taylen Ballard-Nixon BYU Sr. OH
Annie Benbow San Diego Jr. LIB
Rose Booth LMU So. OH
Whitney Bower BYU Sr. S
Kennedy Eschenberg BYU Sr. MB
Thana Fayad San Diego Gr. OH
Grace Frohling San Diego Jr. OPP
Katie Lukes San Diego Jr. OH
Riley Patterson Pacific Jr. OH
Sarah Penner Gonzaga Sr. OH/RS
Julia Sangiacomo Santa Clara So. OH
Shannon Scully Pepperdine Sr. OH
Emme Walters LMU So. MB
Isabel Zelaya Pepperdine So. S
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
OH
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