PHOENIX, AZ – California Baptist senior OH Ingrid Carmona (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) has been selected the 2012 Pacific West Conference Preseason Player of the Year, while the coaches of the PacWest picked BYU-Hawaii to repeat as the conference champions.

The conference announced the 2012 Preseason All-PacWest Team and Predicted Order of Finish live on Thursday, Aug. 23, during the PacWest Radio Show on www.KQCKlive.com. The preseason squad consists of 10 players – the top seven votegetters among general players and the top three liberos.

In addition to her preseason player of the year honor, Carmona was one of the 10 players named to the preseason squad after coming off a terrific 2011 campaign where she was named All-PacWest First Team and the PacWest Newcomer of the Year.

Last season she averaged 5.15 points, 4.63 kills and 3.08 digs per set while leading the Lancers to a 27-10 overall mark and the NCCAA National Championship. She hit .269 in 2011.

The coaches of the PacWest also recognized Grand Canyon sophomore Mackenzie Phelps (Prescott, AZ/Prescott) as the 2012 Preseason Libero of the Year and placed her on the preseason squad. In 2011 she was named PacWest Co-Libero of the Year after totaling 561 digs and averaging 5.39 digs per set.

In 2011, BYU-Hawaii claimed the PacWest title and the automatic berth in the NCAA II National Championship Tournament after posting a 15-1 league record and a 19-4 overall mark.

This year the Seasiders are the favorites to repeat as PacWest Champion after earning 12 of a possible 14 first-place votes and landing three players on the preseason squad. Grand Canyon earned one first-place vote and is picked to finish second, while California Baptist grabbed one first-place nod and is predicted to take third place.

Sophomore MB/OH Shih Ting Chen (Yunlin, Taiwan/Chung Shan), sophomore setter Ying Chun Chen (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) and senior OH Lauren Hagemeyer (Ridgway, CO/Ridgway) each were named to the 2012 Preseason All-PacWest Team.

All three players were named to the PacWest First Team in 2011, while Shih Ting Chen claimed the Player of the Year award and Ying Chun Chen garnered Rookie of the Year accolades.

Shih Ting Chen led the Seasiders by hitting .255 and averaging 4.51 kills per set in 2011. She also averaged 4.99 points and 3.65 digs per set. Ying Chun Chen led the PacWest in assist average by recording 11.29 per set, while she posted 0.44 aces per set to stand second in the league.

Hagemeyer, who was a 2010 First Team selection, produced a .320 hitting average while also recording 3.99 points and 3.59 kills per set.

In addition to Phelps, Grand Canyon landed senior setter Kristen Preach (Phoenix, AZ/Xavier Prep) on the Preseason All-PacWest Team. Preach has earned multiple honors during her career, including 2009 Freshman of the Year, 2010 All-PacWest Honorable Mention, and 2011 All-PacWest First Team.. She hit .323 and averaged 9.20 assists per set.

Hawai'i Pacific earned a pair of preseason picks in senior OH Sanoe Recca (Honolulu, HI/Kamehameha Schools-Oahu) and junior libero Chelsea Buyuan (Hilo, HI/Waiakea). Recca, an All-PacWest Second Team choice in 2011, averaged 2.74 kills, 3.02 points and 3.34 digs per set, while Buyuan competed in 25 matches and 76 sets for the Sea Warriors.

Dixie State senior libero Brita Jensen (Taylorsville, UT/Taylorsville), an All-PacWest Second Team selection last year, earned a place on the All-PacWest Preseason Team after posting 3.42 points and 3.38 digs per set in 2011.

In its first season of league competition, Fresno Pacific is picked to finish fourth in the PacWest. The Sunbirds also landed a preseason All-PacWest selection in junior MB Kathleen Anderson (Lemoore, CA/Lemoore). Last year, Anderson hit .332 while averaging 3.23 kills, 0.31 service aces and 0.98 blocks per set.