By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University libero Shyla Sato (Sr., Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) and setter Emma Porter (Sr., Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) have been chosen Second Team All-Northwest Conference for the 2022 season as voted by the NWC head coaches. Sato was selected All-NWC for the second consecutive season after earning Honorable Mention All-NWC in 2021.

A total of 18 student-athletes were named to the 2022 All-NWC Volleyball Team. Six players were chosen to the First Team, with six players on the Second Team, and six players receiving Honorable Mention.

Pacific Lutheran University libero Halle Hetzler was selected the NWC Player of the Year and the NWC Libero of the Year. She was chosen Libero of the Year for the second season in a row. Middle hitter Olivia Evaro from PLU was named NWC Rookie of the Year. Head Coach Mark Massey at the University of Puget Sound was voted NWC Coach of the Year.

"I'm so glad that Shyla and Emma received All-Conference recognition," Willamette Head Volleyball Coach Lily Hallock said. "Often hitters receive the accolades, but every play starts with a pass and a set, and we couldn't ask for anyone better than Shyla and Emma. It's hard to measure with stats how much a libero and a setter contribute. Anyone that watched us play this season saw their contributions. The two anchored our defense and offense."

Willamette finished the 2022 season with an 11-11 overall record and tied for third place in the NWC at 10-6, one game behind the first place co-champions from the University of Puget Sound and Whitworth University. The Bearcats achieved 896 kills (10.80 avg.) and 1,371 digs (16.52 avg.), plus 119 team total blocks (1.43 avg.).

Second Team All-Northwest Conference

Emma Porter (Sr., S) concluded her career with 2,502 assists for the Bearcats. She played in 282 sets and 76 matches while averaging 8.87 career assists per game. She also earned 238 kills, 71 service aces, 817 digs, and 72 total blocks. In addition to her assists, she earned 934 career total attacks as an offensive threat. On defense, he averaged 2.90 career digs per set. 

This season, Porter led the WU attack by providing 683 assists and 8.23 assists per game. She added 69 kills and 21 aces on offense, and made 209 digs (2.52 avg.) and 25 blocks on defense. She registered 51 assists against Whitworth on Oct. 22 and had 50 assists versus Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 1.

During the 2020-21 spring season that was shortened by COVID, she set a career-high with 64 assists against George Fox on March 19, 2021. She produced a career-high 852 assists as a first-year player in 2019.

Shyla Sato (Sr., LIB) was selected Second Team All-NWC after receiving Honorable Mention All-NWC recognition in 2021. She supplied Willamette with career-high 479 digs and averaged 5.77 digs per set. She also achieved 30 service aces (0.36 avg.). Sato was credited with a career-high 41 digs against Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 29 for the second-highest total by a Bearcat since 2006.

She was selected to the St. Thomas All-Tournament Team at this year's season-opening tournament. She registered 75 digs in 15 sets during the tournament.

In her career at Willamette, Sato contributed 1,529 digs and 5.40 digs per set while competing in 283 sets and 76 matches. She amassed 84 career service aces. As a secondary setter for the Bearcats, she dished out 246 assists over the past four seasons. She earned more than 420 digs during all three full seasons she played (2020-21 was a short 8-match season). Sato was chosen NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week five times during her career.