SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Santa Clara University volleyball team had two returners named to the 2023 Preseason all-West Coast Conference team Wednesday, with senior libero Kat Georgiadis and sophomore middle blocker Lia Okammor landing spots on the annual team voted on by the conference's head coaches.
 
Georgiadis is the WCC's top returning defensive specialist, having led the conference in digs per set (4.08) and total digs (469) last season. She played in all 32 matches in 2022 as the Broncos' starting libero, earning all-WCC honorable mention accolades. She also earned WCC All-Academic honorable mention recognition for the second year in a row. Georgiadis posted seven matches with 20 or more digs and 15 with at least 15 digs. The Toronto native was third on the team with 26 service aces. She was tabbed the WCC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10-16, 2022.
 
Okammor was a dual threat for the Broncos in the middle during 2022. She was top-15 in the WCC in both total blocks (85) and blocks per set (0.86). She also had 123 kills and hit .305 on the year. Okammor only got better as the year went on. She had 22 matches during the season with multiple blocks – and 14 of those came in the last 16 matches she played. The same went for her offense. She started the year with only three matches of five or more kills through her first 17 appearances. She ended the year with 10 more such performances in her final 14 matches, including five straight to end the regular season while hitting .320.
 
Santa Clara was picked sixth in the 2023 WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 31 points. Defending champion San Diego, a 2022 NCAA Final Four team, was selected as the conference favorite. Pepperdine and LMU both led the conference with four preseason selections each.
 
The Broncos begin the 2023 campaign on Friday with the first day of the Santa Clara/San Jose State Invitational. Santa Clara will play its first match of the year off campus at Mission College, where they'll face CSUN at 12:30 p.m. More information about the weekend's schedule changes can be found by clicking here.