Westmont senior volleyball star Malinda Reese has been named both the Golden State Athletic Conference and NAIA Region II Libero of the Year. Reese, of San Carlos, holds every defensive record at Westmont and was previously named the NAIA National Libero of the Week. She also has been recognized as a GSAC Scholar-Athlete.
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“I’ve told other coaches that Malinda is the best defensive player I’ve ever had on a team in all the year’s I’ve coached — men’s or women’s,” said head coach Jim Smoot, whose career includes serving as head coach of the men’s programs at Hawaii, Ohio State and Loyola Marymount. “On top of that, she is a great scholar-athlete and a great team member and team captain.”
Reese averaged eight digs per game (824 digs in 103 games), 2.3 digs per game better than The Master’s College’s Leslie Windham, who finished second among the conference statistical leaders. Reese’s nearest rival in the region was Menlo’s Christa Hewett, who averaged 7.1 digs per game. Nationally, Reese finished third in digs per game.
During the 2007 season, Reese also accumulated 966 serve receptions, bringing her career totals to 2,475 digs and 3,042 serve receptions. That means she successfully handled a serve or attack 5,517 times in her four-year career.
Ron Smith is Westmont College‘s sports information director.