ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Redshirt senior Chantale Riddle has picked up another accolade to add to her collection. After picking up her third Mountain West all-conference honor last week, Riddle has been named a AVCA All-Pacific South Region Honorable Mention selection, making her the first player in UNM volleyball history to become a three-time all-region selection.
“I am happy for Chantale and I feel she is very deserving for this honor. She had a great year and was the premier hitter in the Mountain West conference. Unfortunately, the AVCA all-region voting is done through the head coaches and is transparent on the AVCA website. Chantale had the votes to be on the all-region first team, therefore we are disappointed that she was passed over for players with less votes. It is still a great honor and we are going to celebrate that.”
The two-time All-American goes down as one of the most decorated players in the history of Lobo volleyball. This season she became UNM’s all-time career leader in kills with 1,623 and in points with 1,910. She also became the Mountain West all-time career leader in kills which was broken in her final match in a Lobo uniform, collecting 22 kills in a three-set sweet of Air Force.
She finished the 2014 ranked first among the Mountain West in points with 4.67 per set and second in kills with 3.90 per set. Riddle ranks in the top 70 in the nation in four categories, including 43rd in points per set (4.67), 59th in total kills (441), 62nd in total blocks (136) and kills per set (3.90).
Riddle became just the second player in UNM history to be named as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week for her big performances in wins over Boise State and Utah State. She averaged 4.62 kills per set for a .382 hitting percentage. She picked up 5.31 points per set, 1.00 blocks per set and 2.75 digs per set.
The Roswell, New Mexico native was named Mountain West Player of the Week twice this season which makes four weekly honors for her career. She had three career-highs this season, including a .600 hitting percentage on Sept. 25 against San Jose State, 24 digs against UNLV on Nov. 6 and 27 kills against SMU on Sept. 20.
The AVCA All-America teams will be announced next week. Riddle is attempting to become the first player in UNM history to be honored by the AVCA All-America program three times, as she was a third-team selection last year. Riddle and former Lobo Pauline Manser are UNM’s only two-time All-America.