Vargas, Saraceno reach All-American status

One of the best women’s volleyball seasons in recent UCSB history was further decorated on Wednesday when the American Volleyball Coaches Association named Rebecca Saraceno as an All-American. Joining her as an All-American was junior Dana Vargas, giving the setter her third major postseason award.
 
Saraceno, who had 4.45 kills per set and 2.66 digs per set, and Vargas, who passed out 1,297 assists, are the first UCSB players to be named All-Americans since Olivia Waldowski in 2006. The honor makes Saraceno and Vargas the 18th and 19th players in school history to be named All-Americans and the first duo to be named since Danielle Bauer and Brooke Niles were honored in 2002.
 
The Big West Player of the Year, Saraceno was named to the AVCA’s All-American Honorable Mention team. The senior from Redondo Beach, Calif. is one of just six Big West players named an All-American.
 
Aside from ranking in the nation’s top-20 in kills and points per set, Saraceno finished her senior year as one of the most honored players in school history. A look at her achievements:
 
·       All-American Honorable Mention (first UCSB player since 2006)
·       AVCA All-West Region First Team (first UCSB player since 2006)
·       Big West Player of the Year (only the fourth in school history)
·       AVCA National Player of the Week (first UCSB player since 2005)
·       Four-time Big West Player of the Week (school record)
 
In addition to her accomplishments, Saraceno leaves UCSB’s program eighth all-time in career kills, 10th in career kill attempts and seventh all-time in service aces. Her kill average this season is eighth all-time in single-season history while she recorded the third, fourth and fifth-most kills in rally scoring history at UCSB.
 
Vargas, meanwhile, adds All-American to her list of season awards which also includes First Team All-Big West and First Team All-West Region. The junior from Seal Beach, Calif. averaged 10.90 assists per set, which was 40th in the nation. She is currently fourth all-time in school history in assists.
 
Vargas helped the Gauchos to a 22-8 overall mark with her improved play and allowed the team to hit .236 collectively, nearly 50 points higher than their opponents. She also averaged 1.98 digs per set