East Division Defensive Player of the Week
Madison Hardy, Miami, Jr., L, Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy
Hardy was Miami’s defensive leader at the Marshall Invitational. She averaged 5.33 digs per set, and helped lead a defense that kept every single opponent to a hitting percentage under .200 ever match. She recorded 26 digs against IUPUI, only three short of her career high. She followed that up with 16 digs against Wright State and 22 against Marshall. Hardy only had two reception errors the entire weekend despite being targeted 84 times.
East Division Offensive Player of the Week
Liz Scott, Buffalo, So., OH, Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua
Liz Scott had an outstanding first weekend as she was named the Most Valuable Player at the UB Invite, leading the Bulls to a 2-1 record. Scott had 20 or more kills
in each of UB’s victories beginning the season with 20 kills against Canisius. However, Scott saved the best match of her career for the Tournament Championship match as she finished with a career-high 25 kills and a .479 hitting percentage against Oral Roberts. Scott had just two errors in the five set match on 48 total swings. Scott also racked up 27 digs in the three matches over the weekend.
West Division Defensive Player of the Week
Lena Oliver, Western Michigan, Jr., L, Battle Creek, Mich. / St. Phillip Catholic Central
Oliver led the Broncos in digs in three straight matches, averaging 5.70 digs over the course of the Broncos win against Missouri State and losses to Tulsa and Oklahoma. Oliver tied the match-high with 17 digs against Oklahoma, and set the match-high with 20 digs apiece against Tulsa and Missouri State. Oliver, who already ranks fifth all-time in career digs at Western Michigan, helped the Broncos hold Missouri State to just .181 hitting as a team in WMU’s 3-1 victory against the Bears.
West Division Offensive Player of the Week
Rachel Iaquaniello, Eastern Michigan, Sr., OH, Plymouth, Mich./Dearborn Divine Child
Rachel Iaquaniello led the Eagles to a perfect 4-0 start on the season after going undefeated at the 2012 Memphis Invitational. She averaged 13.75 kills per match,
including 17-kill performances in each of the first two matches this season. The senior posted a .254 attack percentage en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, while she averaged 4.43 point per set in the opening four matches. The Plymouth, Mich. native was stellar on the defensive side of the ball averaging 3.43 digs per set. With her offensiveperformance over the weekend, the senior outside hitter moved into second all-time in EMU laurels for kills with 1,450 total. She trails just Roxanne Munch who notched 1,537 kills from 1986-89.
Offensive Player of the Week Nominees
Tina Dimitrijevs, Akron, RS-Sr., MB, Broadview Heights, Ohio/North Royalton HS
Named to the South Carolina Gamecock Invitational All-Tournament Team … Started all four matches and appeared in every set … Led the Zips in kills and attack percentage against ETSU (10 K, .389) and Temple (13 K, .476) … The .476 clip against Temple led both teams for players with 10 or more attempts … Set a new career high with three service aces against vs. ETSU … First on the team with 2.93 kills per set so far this season.
Kara Bates, Ball State, Sr., OH, Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community
Named to the Ball State Active Ankle All-Tournament team after leading all players with a 3.09 kills-per-set average over the tournament. Her 3.55 points-per-set average also led all players at the two-day event.
Danielle Tonyan, Bowling Green, Jr., RS, McHenry, Ill./McHenry
Danielle Tonyan had a pair of double-double and posted the match-high in kills in both matches this weekend. Tonyan had 12 kills and hit .409 in the season opener against Marquette, adding a career-best 10 digs. In a four-set loss to Northwestern, she again posted 10 digs to go with her 19 kills, three blocks and two aces.
Lindsey Dulude, Central Michigan, Sr., OH, Midland, Mich./Midland
Named to Country Inn & Suites All-Tournament Team.
Kelly Hutchison, Kent State, Fr., RS/OH, Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington
Kent State freshman right side hitter/outside hitter Kelly Hutchison (Columbus, Ohio) made her mark in her first weekend competing at the NCAA level, leading the Golden Flashes with 36 kills and a hitting percentage of .346 in three starts at the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne/IPFW Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind., and earning all-invitational team honors for her efforts. She reached double figures in kills in all three matches, totaling a team-high 11 against both Cleveland State on Friday (Aug. 24) and Murray State (Aug. 5) before tallying a career-high 14 to lead the Flashes against host IPFW (Aug. 25).
Meg Riley, Miami, So., OH/S, St. Louis, Mo./Cor Jesu Academy
Riley had an unbelievable week leading the Miami offense. She set career-highs for kills in every game, recording 13 against IUPUI and Wright State and topping that with 20 against Marshall. Against IUPUI, she only played the third and fourth set and immediately made a difference in the match. After Miami dropped the first two sets, she was inserted into the lineup. She would go on to record 10 kills in set three and finish with a total of 13. Playing full-time and all six rotations against Wright State and Marshall she would do even better. Playing half the time as an outside hitter and the other half as a setter, she would go on to record her first two triple-doubles in those matches. Against Wright State, Riley had 13 kills, 12 assists and 10 digs. Against Marshall, Riley finished with 20 kills, 20 assists and 12 digs. She averaged 4.60 kills per set to lead Miami over the weekend and was second on the team with a 2.50 digs per set average. She also had two service aces, a solo block and two block assists.
Alexis “Pookie” Gonzalez, Northern Illinois, Fr., S, Fresno, Calif./Bullard H.S.
Had two double-doubles and was named to the NIU Invitational All-Tournament team.
Dakota Harkins, Toledo, Jr., MB, Canal Fulton, OH/Northwest
Dakota Harkins was named to the all-tournament team at Ohio State’s DC Koehl Sports Imports Classic. She led the Rockets with a .300 attack percentage and 1.1 blocks per set and was second with 2.00 kills per set. Harkins posted 13 kills, five blocks and a .385 hitting mark in UT’s season-opening win over Houston and followed that up with a weekend-best six blocks vs. No. 24 Oregon. She wrapped up her weekend with an impressive .500 ATK% against No. 24 Ohio State.
Jessica Brown, Western Michigan, Sr., MB, Kentwood, Mich. / East Kentwood
Brown was the top offensive threat for the Broncos at the Oklahoma Nike Invitational this past weekend, leading the team in kills and ranking second in hitting percentage. She led the Broncos in kills in their win against Missouri State on Saturday, tying the match-high with 18 kills and hit .293 on 41 swings. In addition, Brown added four blocks, two digs, and one ace. Brown also recorded a team-high 10 kills against Tulsa, who received votes in the most recent national poll. Brown hit .348 against the Golen Hurricane and added three blocks and two digs. With Brown’s 35 kills this weekend, she passed Traci Morin for 13th on the career kills list at Western Michigan.
Defensive Player of the Week Nominees
Jill Paluch, Akron, Jr., DS, Chicago, Ill./Nazareth Academy
Led both teams with a career-high 20 digs in a win over UNC Asheville … First on the team in digs in all four matches.
Catie Fredrich, Ball State, Jr., L, Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls
Led all players in the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge with 52 digs and a 4.73 digs-per-set average. Also dished out 14 assists over the three matches, while posting a .973 serving percentage with one ace and just one error in 37 attempts.
Kaitlyn Skinner, Bowling Green, Jr., MB, Cambridge, Ontario/St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School
Kaitlyn Skinner had 10 blocks in two matches during the weekend. The junior middle posted three blocks against Marquette and then posted a career-best seven in a four-set loss to Northwestern.
Dana Musil, Buffalo, Jr., L/OH, Vancouver, British Columbia/South Delta
Dana Musil filled in as the team’s libero for the first two matches of the weekend, before moving to outside hitter in the five-set win over Oral Roberts. The junior recorded over 20 digs in each of the first two matches, including a career-high 26 in the loss to San Jose St. Musil added 19 digs and a block in the win over Oral Roberts, adding 15 kills to the scoresheet. Musil was one of three Buffalo players named to the All-Tournament team following the UB Invitational.
Jenna Coates, Central Michigan, Jr., L, Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston
Named to All-Tournament team … led all players at Country Inn & Suites Tournament.
Sierra Reed, Eastern Michigan, Fr., L, Parker City, Ind./Wapahani
Freshman Sierra Reed displayed her skills in her opening weekend of collegiate athletics helping EMU to a 4-0 record at the Memphis Invitational. The Parker City, Ind. native averaged nearly five digs per set (4.71) in the Eagles’ sweep of the competition, while posting a .930 reception percentage making just eight errors in 14 sets.
Liz Reikow, Kent State, Sr., MB, Holland, Mich./Holland
Kent State sophomore middle blocker Liz Reikow (Holland, Mich.) was Kent State’s defensive standout during the opening weekend of the 2012 NCAA volleyball season, leading the Golden Flashes with 13.0 blocks (six solo, seven assisted) in three starts at the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne/IPFW Invitational in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Justine Schepler, Northern Illinois, Jr., DS, Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore H.S.
Named to NIU Invitational All-Tournament Team … Tied a career high with 19 digs vs. NDSU.
Meredith Ashy, Ohio, Fr., L, Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy
Led the Bobcats in digs at the Flyer Classic, earning a spot on the all-tournament team. Had a match-best 22 digs against the No. 7 Fighting Illini and followed that up with a career-best 25 digs against Dayton.
Dakota Harkins, Toledo, Jr., MB, Canal Fulton, OH/Northwest
Dakota Harkins was named to the all-tournament team at Ohio State’s DC Koehl Sports Imports Classic. She led the Rockets with a .300 attack percentage and 1.1 blocks per set and was second with 2.00 kills per set. Harkins posted 13 kills, five blocks and a .385 hitting mark in UT’s season-opening win over Houston and followed that up with a weekend-best six blocks vs. No. 24 Oregon. She wrapped up her weekend with an impressive .500 ATK% against No. 24 Ohio State.