WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Kate Borsato, one of the most talented setters to ever play volleyball at Whitman College, has capped her senior season by earning All-Northwest Conference First-Team honors.
Borsato was one of three Whitman players singled out for all-conference recognition in a vote of conference coaches. Rosa Brey, a sophomore middle blocker, was named to the All-NWC Second Team, while junior outside hitter Leslie Compean received Honorable Mention recognition.
Borsato, a four-year starter at setter, finished her playing days last week as Whitman's all-time leader in career assists with 3,598. In statistics for NWC matches only, Borsato led the conference in assists this season, averaging 11.80 per game. Discounting two games she played in a non-setter's role, she averaged 12.21 assists per game in NWC play.
"Kate was a very good setter when she first came to Whitman, but she kept getting better with each new season," Whitman coach Dean Snider said. "As a senior, she kept getting better with each match. The offense she directed this past season was the most prolific we've had in my 11 seasons here. We've not had a setter play at a higher level than Kate."
With Borsato at the controls this season, Whitman's well-balanced offense saw four players reach double-digit kills in five matches. The Missionaries had five players collect 10 or more kills in in two other matches. As a team, Whitman posted a hitting percentage of .300 or above on five occasions, including one late-season victory in which the Missionaries hit .515. That was the highest single-match hitting percentage posted by a NWC team this season.
Borsato, one of seven players named to the All-NWC First Team, earned NWC Player of the Week honors twice during the season. A graduate of Semiahmoo High School in White Rock, B.C., she earned All-NWC Honorable Mention recognition at the end of her first season at Whitman. A psychology major, Borsato served as a team captain in each of her final two seasons.
Whitman's Brey, who twice earned NWC Player of the Week honors this season, was the only sophomore to make either of the NWC first or second teams. She earned Honorable Mention recognition last fall in her first season at Whitman.
"Rosa is our most athletic player, someone who can physically dominate any match," Snider said. "Her ability to stop, start and change directions in the back row is outstanding, and in the front row she is one of the top blockers and top attackers in the conference. Had we placed higher as a team in the conference standings, I don't think there's any doubt she would have received first-team honors."
Brey dominated the final two matches of her sophomore season. After hitting .737 with 15 kills and 10 digs in one three-game victory, she sparked a five-game Whitman triumph with 21 kills (.529), 11 digs and seven blocks.
In 16 NWC matches this season, Brey ranked third in hitting percentage (.315), fifth in blocks (.98 per game) and seventh in kills (3.60 per game). For the entire season, she averaged 1.04 blocks per game, the second-best mark in the conference.
"The great thing about Rosa is that she's still on the way up," Snider said. "I don't think we've seen her play her best volleyball yet."
Brey, who plans to major in anthropology at Whitman, is a graduate of Bozeman (Mont.) High School.
Snider was pleased to see Compean, one of his squad's most reliable players, rewarded with Honorable Mention recognition. "Leslie played well all season long, which was a great example for a team that struggled with consistency at times," he said. "We always knew how she was was going to play. She was either good or very good, and that's what it takes to be successful."
Compean, one of five Whitman players to contribute at least 2.0 kills per game on the season, averaged 2.79 kills and 1.68 digs per game. In one of her best matches of the season, she paced the Missionaries with 21 kills while hitting .300. In other matches, she combined 17 kills and seven digs in one instance, and 15 kills and 15 digs in another.
In three seasons as a starter, Compean has accumulated 752 kills and 538 digs. Majoring in art history and visual studies at Whitman, Compean is a graduate of Cascade High School in Everett, Wash.