Costa, Pereira earn spots on All-Region/All-ACCAC postseason teams
Jim Howell
Nov. 2nd, 2009
Brazilian sophomore named 1st Team Region I & 2nd Team All-ACCAC; Pereira named HM All-ACCAC
Yuma, Arizona – November 2, 2009 -- Arizona Western College is proud to announce that two members of the AWC Volleyball team have been named to the 2009 All-Region and/or All-ACCAC postseason teams. AWC sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Fernanda Costa (fair-NAHN-duh COHS-tah) was named 1st Team All-Region and 2nd Team All-ACCAC, while freshman outside hitter Thacilli ‘Thaci’ Pereira (TAH-see peh-REHR-rah) earned Honorable Mention All-ACCAC honors. The announcements were made a day after the postseason coaches’ meetings in Scottsdale were concluded.
The maturation process of Costa as a vocal and physical leader certainly came full circle in the span of 12 months. The native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had an unconventional start to her college career, not arriving on the AWC campus until two games into the Lady Matadors’ 2008 season while waiting for her visa documents to clear. Once she arrived, she had to hit the ground running, since she didn’t have the benefit of preseason drills with her new teammates. Nevertheless, Costa quickly became a strong one-two punch (with fellow Matador striker Luci Toazzi) for opposing defenders while playing both outside hitter and inside at middle blocker. Despite arriving late, Costa still became the team’s 2nd-most potent striker in 2008, hitting 282 kills in 109 games. She was also 2nd on the team in digs (296), 3rd in digs per game (2.72) and 4th in aces with 29. She also registered 25 blocks in helping lead the Lady Mats to their 11th consecutive Region I Finals appearance. When ‘Fe’ returned to the team this past August, she saw very few familiar faces, since she was one of only two returning sophomores from ’08. AWC Head Volleyball Coach Karen Glover needed a team leader, and Costa-feeling much better about her command of the English language than during her freshman year-took on that role. She became a leader both vocally and by example, finishing among the team leaders in nearly every category. She was 2nd on the team in digs (262), aces (24) and hitting efficiency (21.7%); 3rd in kills (212), kills per game (2.09) and digs per game (2.59); and 4th in blocks (32).
Meanwhile, fellow Brazilian Pereira had to make the same transition this year that Costa did a year ago, arriving in the United States for the first time this past August, but unlike Costa had the benefit of a full freshman training camp. Pereira showed her ability right off the bat, registering a season-high 16 kills against nationally ranked Salt Lake during the Scottsdale Volleyball Classic in mid-September. As the season wore on, with the team fighting injuries, the native of Curitiba, Brazil, became one of the team’s most consistent threats on the front line-both offensively and defensively. Pereira wound up the conference’s 8th-best with 2.75 kills per game. She also led the Lady Matadors in kills (287), aces (47) and aces per game (.456), while placing 3rd in digs (234) and blocks 43) and 4th in digs per game (2.27).
The Lady Matadors finished the 2009 campaign with a 16-17 overall mark and a 6-7 record in ACCAC play.
