Brent Mutis, CapU sport info & compliance officer
The PACWEST has announced its conference All-Star teams for the 2022-23 season and a pair of Blues players, both liberos, have earned recognition.
On the women's side, Vanesa Gatto has been named a First-Team All-Star while Owen Genge has been named to the men's All-Rookie Team
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Gatto turned in another sparkling season for CapU, leading the team with 228 digs which was the second-highest total in the PACWEST. The Coquitlam product and graduate of St. Thomas More Collegiate showed extreme versatility this season as she was asked on several occasions to play at outside hitter where she showed exceptional court awarness and vision, putting away double-digit kills in three games despite being just 5-foot-7.
As usual, Gatto kept rallies alive with her quick reflexes and deft first touch. She registered double-digits in digs in 12 games including two games where she also had double-digit kills.
Genge showed himself to be a valuable piece of the Blues formation in his first season, getting into the starting lineup right away and playing 74 sets, the third-highest total on the team. His 110 digs was most on the Blues and placed him in the top-10 in the PACWEST.
A native of Burnaby and graduate of Burnaby Central, Genge recorded a season-high 13 digs in a Feb. 3 match at Columbia Bible College and got into double digits on two other occasions. His 342 receptions was the second-highest on the team. He and teammate Stephen Searcy, who had 346 receptions this season, posted the highest numbers in that category since Jonathan Lee's 416 in the 2018-19 season.
