Former Rim star nets national honor

Former Rim of the World volleyball standout Sonja Newcombe, a senior outside hitter for the University of Oregon, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week. She earned the award after leading the Ducks to two key conference wins, recording their first sweep of then-No.14 California since 1990 and their first victory against then-No. 5 Stanford since 1989. Newcombe started out the week with a double-double drilling 13 kills out of 22 attacks with only one error, hitting .545 - her second highest mark of the season. She also tallied 10 digs, two aces, one assist and one block in the outing. She continued the week with another impressive double-double, contributing 26 kills, good for a .362 clip, while adding a career-high 24 digs, three assists, two blocks and an ace in a win over Stanford. For the week, Newcombe averaged 4.38 kills, 4.25 digs and 5.50 points per set, while turning in a .412 attack percentage. This is the third time an athlete from Oregon has earned the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week award and marks the second time Newcombe has received the honor, the last coming on Oct. 7, 2008. On the season she has 241 kills, 157 digs, 39 blocks and 15 service aces for the Ducks (14-3). Anyone that saw her in her playing days at Rim isn't surprised at her success on the national front with a prominent Division I program.