Park University

Jonovich named Cal-Pac Player of the Year; Bacon and Patton tabbed for multiple Conference Awards

By Bill McCulloch

Posted on November 10, 2022

Photo - Park University Athletics

(Oakland, CA) The California Pacific Conference announced its volleyball all-conference players at the annual banquet held ahead of the conference tournament last night at the University of Saint Katherine. Park University Gilbert outside hitter Amanda Jonovich was named Cal Pac Player of the Year. Middle blocker Makenna Busse was named to the all-conference second team, while also being picked to the all-Academic team. Miranda Bacon and Hattie Patton were tabbed honorable mention all-conference. Bacon was also named a Cal Pac Conference Champions of Character and Patton was also earned Cal Pac All-Academic honors. This is the second time in three years a Buccaneer has taken home the conference player of the year award as Bacon won the award in the 2020-21 spring season.

“Amanda is very deserving of this honor,” said Buccaneers head coach Shawn Close. “She is not only one of the elite players in the conference, but in the country.”

Jonovich led a Buccaneers offense that was one of the most potent in the country. The Buccaneers finished the regular season 12^th in the country in kills per set (13.50) and fifth in the country in attack percentage (.256). Jonovich led the conference in kills per set (3.76) and hitting percentage (.335). Even more impressive is the fact that Jonovich posted these numbers despite playing in an offense with so many offensive options, she was not as heavily relied upon as she was last season when she was named Cal Pac Attacker of the Year. The Buccaneers had five players with 120 or more kills in conference play, led by Jonovich with 246. Overall, the Bucs had those same five players all have 200 or more kills on the season and despite only playing in 19 matches Jonovich still led the team in overall kills.

Jonovich missed the entire non-conference season with a wrist injury on her non-hitting arm. So, all of the matches she played in 2022 were in conference. Other players will have more kills in terms of volume, but no one averaged more per set or at a higher percentage. Jonovich did not qualify for the overall conference lead in these categories because she only played in 19 matches. She needed to play in 20 to qualify. The only reason she did not play in all 20 conference matches is because she sat out on the Buccaneers senior night so all of the seniors could play in the final home match of their careers. Jonovich did qualify in these categories within conference play.

This is Jonovich’s third year in a row on an all-Cal Pac team. In her first year, which was the truncated 2020-21 spring season, Jonovich was named to the second team. Last year she was placed on the first team and won conference Attacker of the Year which led to her being named an NAIA All-America. This year she vaults to the pinnacle of the conference as its consensus player of the year and once again leads the all-conference first team. This should lead to another NAIA All-America nod for the junior from Mesa, Ariz.

For the second time in three seasons Makenna Busse was named second team all-conference. Busse was one of the top, if not the top offensive middle blocker in the conference, leading middles in attack percentage (.490) in conference and was second in kills per set 2.18. Busse had five conference matches with 10 or more kills, with a career high 17 against Westcliff. She had three matches with five or more kills and no errors. She also had 11 of the final 12 matches with 10 consecutive matches to end the season with five or more kills and two or fewer errors. Injuries cost Busse a shot at all-conference honors in 2021 when she was a key player down the stretch in the Bucs run to the Cal Pac title. Busse was also honored for her academic prowess, as she was named to the Cal Pac All-Academic team with a 4.0 GPA in Healthcare Administration.

Two first team all-conference members a year ago, Miranda Bacon and Hattie Patton were tabbed for honorable mention all-Cal Pac honors in 2022. This is Bacon’s third consecutive season on an all- conference team for Bacon as she was named to the first team in 2020 and 2021, winning Cal Pac Player of the Year in 2020.

While this may look like a step down for Bacon, it is more of a product of the increasing talent around her which made her overall numbers go down, but right side players do not always get as many opportunities as those on the left side. If look at her numbers, you can see how she was still the steady dominating player she always has been, but her number did not need to be called as often. Bacon was third in the conference in hitting percentage at .269 and she hit .222 or better in 24 of the Buccaneers 30 matches on the season. She had six matches with double digit kills with a high of 15 versus Carroll and two 10 kill matches in conference.

Patton showed throughout the season she is not only one of the best defensive players in the conference but in the country. Patton averaged 4.79 digs per set, had nine matches with 20 or more digs including a school record 29 in a four-set match versus Providence (Mont.) and 24 in three-sets at UC Merced. Her 29 digs in the four-set match also ties the overall school record for a match. She closed out the season with back-to-back 23 dig performances. In addition to being great on the floor, she was also outstanding in the classroom, with a 4.0 GPA in Fitness and Wellness.