West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Kristen Baker, Eastern Michigan, Jr., MB, Mentor, Ohio/Mentor
Junior Kristen Baker led the Eastern Michigan Eagles to an undefeated weekend after going 2-0, topping both Miami and Bowling Green in straight sets on the road. Baker posted a .600 attack percentage throughout the week, including hitting .750 with 13 kills in EMU’s match with the RedHawks Friday, Oct. 14. Baker averaged four kills per set and 12 kills per match, helping the Eagles to their third and fourth straight Mid-American Conference wins.
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Kelly Lamberti, Ohio, Fr., OH, Cary, Ill.
Lamberti helped the Bobcats stay on top of the MAC and become the only Eastern Division team to earn a win over the weekend. The freshman racked up her team-leading 11th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 16 digs in four sets with MAC West leader Ball State. She followed that performance with a match-high 16 kills to go along with five blocks, her most in conference play, during a win over Toledo.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Catie Fredrich, Ball State, So., L, Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.
Catie Fredrich once again paced the Ball State defense, racking up 32 total digs in BSU’s two matches last week . . . In Friday’s win at Ohio, BSU’s first in Athens since the 2002 season, Fredrich led five Cardinals in double-figures with 17 digs, while posting a .947 (18-for-19) reception percentage . . . Her efforts in the backcourt helped limit the Ohio offense to a .168 rate of success for the match . . . She also turned in another solid performance from the service line, keeping all 10 of her attempts in play . . . In Saturday’s win at Kent State, Fredrich dominated the back court, collecting 15 digs to help limit the Golden Flashes to a .032 hitting effort for the match . . . She posted a perfect reception percentage in 12 attempts, while keeping all 11 of her serves in play, while blasting an ace . . . For the week, her defensive effort helped limit BSU’s opponents to a .116 hitting mark.
East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Post, Ohio, Sr., OH, Streamwood, Ill.
Post led Ohio in blocking this weekend as it increased its lead in the MAC East standings. She had four solo blocks and 15 total blocks in the two Bobcat matches. Her nine blocks against Toledo was a season-best for the senior in MAC play. Her three solo blocks against the Cardinals was also a season-high for Post. In addition to her blocking, she also registered 19 kills and hit .306 with 10 kills against BSU and nine against UT.
Additional Nominees for Offensive Player of the Week
Courtney Jarvis, Akron, Sr., OH, Amherst, OH/Amherst Steele
Akron senior Courtney Jarvis led the Zips’ offense again over the weekend against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, totaling 31 kills in eight sets for a .231 hitting percentage. Jarvis averaged 3.875 kills/set and 4.19 points/set, while also added four total blocks and 14 digs. For the season, she leads UA with 236 kills (3.19/set) and is third on the squad with 151 digs. In conference play, she is averaging 3.55 kills/set and 3.90 points/set.
Jacqui Seidel, Ball State, So., S, St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East H.S.
In just her third collegiate start at setter, sophomore Jacqui Seidel guided the Ball State offense to a .203 rate of success and a four-set victory over MAC East Division leader Ohio last Friday . . . In the win, she dished out a career-high 48 assists and collected 14 digs to earn her second career double-double and help hand the Bobcats their first conference loss of the year . . . She also tallied three kills, a pair of aces and three total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs, as BSU recorded its first victory at Ohio since Sept. 28, 2002 . . . She followed that performance by guiding the Ball State offense to a season-high .390 hitting mark in Saturday’s victory at Kent State . . . In the match, she dished out 28 assists and tallied nine digs, while posting a kill and a block assist . . . It was BSU’s first win at Kent State since Oct. 8, 2005.
Kaitlyn Schultz, Central Michigan, Sr., MB, Highland Mich./Highland
In the second set against BGSU Kaitlyn Schultz recorded her 1,000th career kill making her the 14th member in volleyball history to reach this achievement. Schultz assisted her team in finishing the weekend 2-0 defeating BG and Miami. She had 18 kills while hitting .571. That is her second highest hitting percentage with 20 or more attempts this season and her fifth highest hitting percentage with over 20 attempts of her career. Her 18 kills is the second highest total this season and fourth highest of her career. She was also able to add six block assists against BG. Against Miami she finished with 13 kills while hitting .407. She was able to place two aces and have five blocks. Her 19 points was a match high.
Lauren Wicinski, Northern Illinois, So., OH, Geneva H.S.
Wicinski posted 39 kills (4.88/set) and seven aces (0.88/set) in helping NIU to a 2-0 road weekend and extend its winning streak to five … In a 3-2 win at Akron, she went off for 25 kills to lead the Huskies … In a 3-0 sweep at Buffalo, she notched a team-high 14 kills and served up a career-high seven aces.
Becca Reidy, Toledo, SO, RS,
Sophomore RSH Becca Reidy tied her career high with 13 kills and posted a .357 ATK% against MAC East Division leader Ohio on Saturday night. On Friday against Kent State, she tallied eight kills and a .412 ATK%. For the week, Reidy led the Rockets with .378 hitting mark with 3.50 kills per set.
Gillian Asque, Western Michigan, So., OH, Chicago, Ill. / Whitney Young
Asque was the most consistent offensive threat for the Broncos over the weekend, helping WMU to a pair of 3-0 wins over Buffalo and Akron. Against the Bulls, Asque ranked second on the team with nine kills, and had just one error on 20 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage. In addition, Asque added a dig and a block, and ranked second on the team with 9.5 points for the match. Against Akron, Asque ranked second on the team with eight kills, and ranked third on the team with a .286 hitting percentage.
Additional Nominees for Defensive Player of the Week
Paiton Twitty, Akron, Jr., MB, Toledo, OH/Roy C. Start
Akron’s Paiton Twitty had another weekend of strong defensive play with 11 total blocks in eight sets against Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. Twitty averaged 1.375 blocks/set and also added nine kills. In a five-set loss to NIU, Twitty notched eight blocks, two digs and hit .385 with seven kills. On the season, she is averaging 0.89 blocks/set overall and 1.07 blocks/set in conference play.
Ashley Dunn, Bowling Green, So., L, Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green
Ashley Dunn averaged 4.12 digs per set and serve-received at a .968 clip in a pair of conference losses over the weekend. Dunn had 17 digs in a five-set loss to Central Michigan Friday evening and followed that up with 16 digs in three sets against Eastern Michigan. She had one serve receive error in each match, taking 63 attempts total.
Amber Walker, Northern Illinois, So., L, Juneau Douglas H.S.
Walker tallied 19 digs (2.38/set) and had just two errors in 37 reception attempts while helping the Huskies hold their opponents to a .186 hitting percentage … In a 3-2 win at Akron, she had 11 digs and was 18-for-19 in serve receptions … In a 3-0 win at Buffalo, she totaled eight digs and was 17-for-18 in receptions.
Terin Norris, Western Michigan, Sr., S, Dowling, Mich. / Dalton Kellogg
Norris recorded her team-leading eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season this past weekend, posting 36 assists and 10 digs at Buffalo and 39 assists and 12 digs at Akron. The Broncos are 8-1 in matches where Norris records a double-double this season. Norris’s total numbers don’t necessarily indicate how well the Broncos played at the net over the weekend; they held the Bulls and the Zips to a combined .133 hitting percentage, and allowed Broncos players to average a sterling 23.17 digs per set. In addition to her defensive play, Norris averaged 2.00 kills per set and 12.50 assists per set, and hit .333, making her a true double-threat on the court.