Menlo College sophomore Courtney Calicdan was named Player of the Year for the Cal Pac Conference women's volleyball team and was joined by several other teammates in receiving major honors the conference announced Thursday.

Calicdan was joined by junior Nicole Yap, who earned the Newcomer of the Year honor, senior Mika Mendoza, who took home Libero of the Year award, and Daniel Rasay, who was named Coach of the Year.

Calicdan and Yap were also named the All-Conference first team, while Mendoza and senior Stephenie Monderine were chosen for the second team.

"It's just a combination of hard work, growth, and making some changes to be a better player," Rasay said. "It's good to see their hard work pay off and that they were honored by the other coaches in our league."

For Calicdan, the Player of the Year honor is a testament to her resiliency. She missed the bulk of her freshman season because of a knee injury, but came back to lead the Oaks with 221 kills and a .270 hitting percentage. She was also the only player in the Cal Pac to win Player of the Week honors on more than one occasion.

"Last year was really challenging for Courtney because she had to watch from the sidelines, and even coming back from the summer we didn't know where she would be at," Rasay said. "We just kind of eased her in this year, and all of a sudden she was ready to go and really never looked back. She kept working hard to feel comfortable with the strength in her knee, and she was not only a statistical leader but a vocal leader as well. It was huge for Courtney to come back from her injury to win Player of the Year."

Mendoza compiled 359 digs while her 5.28 digs per set ranked 23rd in the nation. Yap recorded 208 kills and added 226 digs.

Monderine became a three-time All-Cal Pac pick after finishing third on the Oaks with 109 kills, second with 161 assists, and fourth with 137 digs.

Rasay earned the Coach of the Year Award in his third season at the helm. The Lady Oaks finished the 2012 campaign on a 12-match win streak to end year at 15-6, including 9-0 in the Cal Pac.

Women's soccer
Junior Natalie Ingram was named Cal Pac Newcomer of the Year, sophomore Kayla Cisneroz earned Defender of the Year recognition, and both were joined by senior Erika Savela on the All-Conference first team announced Thursday.

Ingram, who led the Cal Pac with 16 goals and 37 points and was second with five assists, become the second Oak player to the honor in as many years.

Sophomore Kayla Cisneroz was named Defender of the Year, the third straight year a Menlo player has captured the honor. She was the anchor of Menlo's defense, which recorded six shutouts and held teams to two goals or fewer in 15 of 17 matches.

Savela, in her first year with the program, finished tied for second in the conference with five assists, tied for sixth in points with 23, and seventh with nine goals.

Menlo's 12 wins this season was two more than the previous two seasons combined.

The Oaks, seeded third, open play in the Cal Pac tournament Friday, meeting William Jessup at 7:30 p.m.

— Menlo Athletics

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.