Volleyball Voices

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Courtney Baggs Named CVU Top Performer

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Courtney Baggs Named CVU Top Performer

      

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty sophomore setter Courtney Boggs became the third different Lady Flame to be recognized for her role in the team’s trio of road victories last week. Today, Boggs was named a Collegiate Volleyball Update (CVU.com) Top Performer.

     Boggs (Marysville, Ohio), one of 11 players in the nation to earn Top Performer distinction on Tuesday, is Liberty’s second player to be tabbed a CVU.com Top Performer this season. Senior middle blocker Chelaine McCarty (Houston, Ala.) was previously honored on Sept. 29. McCarty was also named Big South Player of the Week on Monday, and Kelly Haseman (So., L/DS, Three Rivers, Mich.) took home the Big South Defensive Player of the Week award.

     Boggs helped the Lady Flames defeat conference foes Radford, Coastal Carolina and Winthrop on the road last week. Liberty only dropped one set in the process, as the Lady Flames claimed sole possession of second place in the Big South Conference standings at 9-2.

     The Buckeye State native took over the starting setter position five matches ago, after Big South Preseason Player of the Year Kallie Corbin (Sr., S, Beaverton, Ore.) sustained an injury, and has helped Liberty go 4-1 over that stretch. Last week, Boggs tallied 127 assists, while hitting .414 with 14 kills, 21 digs and six blocks. Boggs directed a Liberty offense which hit .315 for the week and saw four players notch 28 or more kills.

     Boggs opened her week by flirting with her first career triple-double, Oct. 20 at Radford. She finished Liberty’s 3-1 win with 45 assists, eight kills and eight digs. Four days later, Boggs tallied 45 more assists and hit 1.000 with three kills, as the Lady Flames handed Winthrop just its second home setback in 14 outings this season.

     Boggs and the Lady Flames will attempt to wrap up a perfect 4-0 road swing tonight at 7 p.m., when they visit VCU for a non-conference match.

 

CVU.com National Player of the Week (Oct. 27): Kelsi Myers, San Diego

 

Top Performers

Courtney Boggs, Liberty

Hana Cutura, California

Kayleigh Giddens, New Mexico State

Beth Greulich, Cleveland State

Ashley Hamilton, Eastern Washington

Kaylee Hawkins, Sam Houston State

Kelsey Knoche, UMKC

Kelsi Myers, San Diego

Whitney Phillips, Portland State

Emily Stockman, Wichita State

Caitlin Strimel, Western Michigan

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: LSU Volleyball's DeGirolamo Garners SEC Defensive Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: LSU Volleyball's DeGirolamo Garners SEC Defensive Player of the Week

BATON ROUGE – LSU middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo picked up SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors Tuesday as announced by the league office. This is DeGirolamo’s sixth career SEC weekly award and first since October 2007.

 

DeGirolamo turned in an impressive defensive performance across the board, playing all six rotations as LSU (16-5, 10-2 SEC) went the distance at then-No. 7 Kentucky before bouncing back with a four-set win at Tennessee.

 

“Lauren was tremendous this weekend and has found a home on the right side,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She worked extremely hard on her defense during her rehab and it has paid dividends allowing her to contribute in all six rotations. We’re proud of her winning this award.”

 

Entering the weekend averaging 2.12 digs and 0.82 blocks per set, DeGirolamo exploded for 3.56 digs and 1.56 blocks per frame. She matched her career-high with 16 digs in both matches. She also racked up a season-high nine blocks highlighted by three solo stuffs against UK.

 

DeGirolamo compiled a season-best 12 kills to go along with her 16 digs against Tennessee and was a perfect 28-for-28 in total reception attempts over the two matches.

 

LSU returns home Friday to square off against Georgia with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Maravich Center. Live video and stats are available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the four-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.

 

Tickets are now on-sale at www.LSUSports.net, the official Web site of LSU Athletics. Tickets also can be purchased at the ticket office on the first floor of the Athletics Administration Building or by calling (225) 578-2184. LSU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a valid LSU ID.

 

LSU volleyball also is offering the Friends and Family Pass where fans receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for only $20.

 

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: JMU’S ABEL NAMED CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: JMU’S ABEL NAMED CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

HARRISONBURG, Va., Oct. 27, 2009 – James Madison redshirt freshman libero Natalie Abel (Washington, Pa./Trinity) was named Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Dukes to a 2-0 week.

Abel averaged 4.62 digs per set as JMU recorded its first undefeated week of the season.  The Dukes picked up their first CAA victory of the season on Friday by beating two-time defending champion Delaware, which entered the match in first place at 7-0 with a 10-match winning streak.  After that 3-2 victory, JMU then topped Towson Saturday night 3-1.

Abel posted a career-high 23 digs in the win over Delaware.  She followed that with 14 digs in three sets against Towson for a total of 47 in eight sets for the week.  In the two matches, Abel also had her second career kill, seven assists (including a career-high five against Towson), one ace, and a .949 reception percentage.

JMU, 9-16 overall and 2-7 in the CAA, will play its final home action of the season this weekend, closing a four-match home stand by hosting Georgia State on Friday and UNC Wilmington on Saturday.  Both matches are at 7 p.m.



---JMUSports.com---

Follow twitter.com/JMUSports for news and scores on JMU Athletics.

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Virginia's Simone Asque Honored as ACC Volleyball Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Virginia's Simone Asque Honored as ACC Volleyball Player of the Week

Outside hitter led Virginia to a 2-0 week

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Sophomore Simone Asque has been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, announced Tuesday by the conference office.

Asque led the Cavaliers to a 2-0 week, as Virginia swept Maryland and escaped with a five-set victory over Boston College on the road. The outside hitter tied a career-high on Friday against the Terrapins, landing 21 of the team’s 43 kills. Asque followed that up with a career-high 27 kills against the Eagles on Saturday.

The Chicago, Ill., native also collected a season-best 16 digs against Boston College to register her fourth double-double this season and eighth of her career. For the weekend, she averaged 6.00 kills per set by tallying 48 kills against 14 errors in 124 attempts for a .274 hitting percentage. She also added 23 digs, two service aces and a block.

The weekly honor is the first for the Cavaliers this season and marks the first of Asque’s career.

Virginia will return to action this weekend, playing host to No. 17 Florida State at 7 p.m. Friday evening and Miami on Sunday at noon.

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Ashley Hamilton Named Big Sky Player of the Week for the second time this season after outstanding week of play

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Ashley Hamilton Named Big Sky Player of the Week for the second time this season after outstanding week of play

After having one of the best performances in NCAA history on Friday (Oct. 23) and then following that up by playing at a top level the following evening, Ashley Hamilton of the Eastern Washington University volleyball team was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.

Against Weber State on Friday, a 3-0 EWU win, Hamilton had kills on all 12 of her attacks to tie the NCAA Division I record for hitting percentage (minimum 10 attacks) at a perfect 1.000 (12-0-12). That average also broke the Big Sky Conference and Eastern Washington school records.

The former league record (minimum three attacks per set) was .917 (11-0-12). Sacramento State's Tasman Dwyer recorded that average against Portland State in a 3-0 win on Oct. 28, 1999, while Idaho's Brittany Van Haverbeke did so in a 3-0 sweep of Gonzaga on Nov. 8, 1994.

The school record entering last week (minimum eight attacks) was .900 (9-0-10). That was set on Sept. 18, 2000, by Janelle Ruen, when she helped the Eagles to a 3-0 win over Texas-Pan American that day.

Hamilton also helped set the team as a whole to a .569 hitting percentage against the Wildcats on Friday (47-8-80), Eastern's best since hitting .569 (45-8-65) in a 3-0 defeat of St. Francis (N.Y.) on Sept. 1, 2006. The senior also had 32 assists, six digs and four blocks that evening.

Against Idaho State on Saturday (Oct. 24), another 3-0 win for the Eagles, Hamilton once again played at a top level, hitting .444 herself (4-0-9) and helping the team to a .299 hitting percentage (44-12-107). The Alpine, Utah, native also had 34 assists, six digs and four blocks in that match.

For the week, Hamilton hit at an incredible .762 clip (16-0-21) and averaged 11.00 assists, 1.50 digs and 1.17 blocks per set.

She moved her kill streak to 15 early Saturday before that incredible streak, dating to a 3-1 win over Northern Colorado on Oct. 17, was snapped. Hamilton did, however, finish the evening with 30 consecutive attacks without an error.

The award is her second of the season and fourth by an Eagle so far in 2009. Hamilton was previously honored on Sept. 28, while Lindsey Petroni earned accolades on Oct. 5, and Hayley Hills did so on Sept. 21.

Hamilton and the Eagles (14-7, 8-2 BSC) hit the road this weekend to play Montana State (3-15, 1-8 BSC) and Montana (9-11, 5-4 BSC) at 6 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 30 and 31), respectively.

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: SCU VB's Davigeadono named WCC Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: SCU VB's Davigeadono named WCC Player of the Week 

Santa Clara, Calif. - Hitting better than .516 on a weekend sweep on the road, Santa Clara senior middle blocker Lindsy Davigeadono was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week today.  Santa Clara won at LMU and Pepperdine behind Davigeadono's 20 kills vs. the Lions and another 18 kills vs. the Waves.  She averaged
4.22 kpg and 0.89 bpg in the nine sets this past weekend.

The Sonora, Calif. native is hitting .301 this season and leads the team with 215 kills, averaging a team-leading 2.83 kpg.  She is tied for the team lead with .89 bpg.  In WCC matches she is averaging 3.43 kpg and hitting .394 - both team highs.  In addition, she is tied for second on the team with 0.67 bpg.

When asked why she has been playing so well lately Davigeadono shrugged her shoulders with an 'I don't know' look on her face.  "I have just been feeling really confident in my play lately and wanting to help my team by playing the best that I can. That is all I have really been trying to focus on rather than our struggles and trials. I have
learned from past experiences that the more I worry about everyone else the more it hinders my play. I just have had to learn how to be calm and be a leader on the court through my actions."

The Broncos are 13-9 this season and 3-4 in the WCC.  They have won three of their last four matches and host USF on Fri., Oct. 30 at 5 pm at the Leavey Center.

Davigeadono knows the importance of defending the Broncos home court and looks forward to the rematch vs. the Dons after falling 3-0 in San Francisco earlier this month.  "We are going to definitely want to look for carry over from this weekend going into the USF match. I thought we played very competitive and we all played together as a team last weekend. We all learned that we need each other in order to win a match. USF is a really good team, but we are too so I hope that we will be able to take what we learned from this weekend and be able to bring to the match. We are a young team and we have learned many lessons. Now I think we are ready to just go out and play!"

Davigeadono, who stands at 6' 3, worked as the team's setter last year due to injury.  Starting the season playing a 5-2 offense this season, Santa Clara had to go back to the 6-1 after freshman Alexandria Palmer went down with a wrist injury.  Two weeks ago Emily Burke went down with a sprained ankle and right now freshman-redshirt
Samantha Selsky, who tore her ACL prior to coming to school last season, is working as the team's setter.
Davigeadono believes regardless of the setter, the team has to continue to work hard on and off the court.

"I have just been telling the setter's to set the ball high and I will take a wack at it! It has been hard due to the injuries with a number of setters this year. I try not to worry about it too much though cause there is nothing I can really do about it."

One of two seniors on a team with 11 underclassmen, Davigeadono knows she has to lead by her play on and off the court. She understands she is being judged by her work ethic. "I have just been trying to work hard every practice to help myself and my team get better. I am not the most vocal person out on the court but I have learned
to take it out on the ball and to play confidently it gives my team mates confidence as well because they do not have to worry so much."

Davigeadono's play has gotten steadily better during the WCC slate.  She points to the match at Saint Mary's, a 3-2 loss, as the turning point in her season personally.

"In the beginning of the season I was so worried about putting the ball in the right place. When we played at Saint Mary's I feel like that was when it finally clicked and ever since then I do not worry about where I need to place the ball because I know I can do it. Now I just hit the ball 10 times harder in a spot!"

Davigeadono has seen the team continue to grow and will remember the fourth game at LMU for a long time. Down 16-11, the Broncos came back from a timeout to score 14 of the next 15 points to win the set 25-17 and the match, 3-1.

"That was a lot of fun. I remember coming out on the court and we were down by a lot. I told Samantha give me the ball and we'd get this done.  And she did! It was great! She gave me great sets and our team played great defense! Dana Knudsen had some great blocks and we all worked together to get the job done. It was a really fun
match and we all were able to come together as a team and just play. We always seem to stress in those types of situations but we were finally able to learn how to just compete and play together. It was a lot of fun!"

 

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Tulsa's Hannah Stout Earns C-USA Offensive Player of the Week Honor

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Tulsa's Hannah Stout Earns C-USA Offensive Player of the Week Honor

Junior middle blocker earns second honor of 2009 after leading the Golden Hurricane to three wins last week

 

TULSA, Okla. – The University of Tulsa volleyball team’s Hannah Stout hit over .600 in each of the three matches last week, and for her efforts was awarded the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

 

The junior from Bloomington, Ill., ranks fifth in the nation with a .449 attack percentage on the season after hitting over .600 four matches in a row. This is her second C-USA weekly award of the season. Last week, Stout had yet another highly efficient week for Tulsa, averaging a .642 hitting percentage, with 35 kills (3.50 per set), committing only one error in 53 attempts, and adding eight blocks in three matches.

 

“Hannah continues to prove her consistency and efficiency,” Tulsa Head Coach Ed Allen said. “Over the course of the last month, she has been one of our most consistent players. She proves to be one of the best middles in Conference USA. As a credit to her, she has been almost a three-year starter for us, since she arrived. She is probably one of the most underrated players in the conference.”

 

Stout totaled 39.5 points in the three rivalry wins, over Oral Roberts, Houston and Rice. In two conference matches against Houston and Rice, Stout led the Golden Hurricane with 26 kills (3.71 per set), and hit .625 with seven blocks. On the biggest stage thus far this season – TU’s Dig Pink match on CBS C – on Sunday, Stout slammed 18 kills, committed zero errors, and hit .621, adding two blocks for a total of 19.5 points for the Hurricane. Against Oral Roberts on Tuesday, Stout recorded nine kills against zero errors, and hit .692, adding a block. On Friday against Houston, she tallied eight kills and hit a .636 attack percentage, with five blocks and a dig.

 

The Golden Hurricane will close out its three-week C-USA home stand this weekend when it plays host to UTEP Friday at 7 p.m. and Tulane Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

Admission to all TU home matches is free. For all Tulsa volleyball news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane. Become a fan of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane page on Facebook – search “Tulsa Golden Hurricane.”

  

-TulsaHurricane.com-

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: CALIFORNIA’S Hana CUTURA NAMED PAC-10 VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: CALIFORNIA’S  Hana CUTURA NAMED PAC-10 VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- Commissioner Larry Scott announced today that CALIFORNIA senior outside hitter Hana Cutura has been named the Pac-10 Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week for Oct. 19-25.

Against No. 16 ARIZONA and ARIZONA STATE, Cutura posted impressive numbers as the No. 15 Golden Bears won their third-consecutive match. In Friday’s 3-1 victory over the Wildcats, the Zagreb, Croatia, native registered a career-high 31 kills. She committed only one error in 47 attempts while posting a .638 hitting percentage. She posted her sixth double-double of the season with 11 digs. The 31 kills in a match is tied for the most this season by a Pac-10 player. 

Against the Sun Devils on Sunday, Cutura posted 21 kills in 32 attempts while hitting .562 and committing just three errors. The sweep of ASU was the most efficient outing for the Golden Bears this season as they tallied 49 kills while hitting at a .426 mark. For the weekend, she posted 52 kills (7.43 kps) in 79 attempts while hitting at .608. She also totaled 54.5 points (7.79 pps). 

For the season, Cutura leads the Pac-10 in kills (5.07 kps) and points (5.58). In addition, her marks in kills and points ranks third and fourth in the NCAA, respectively. 

This is the first weekly honor for Cutura, and California’s 25th all-time Player of the Week.

Also Nominated: Sonja Newcombe, ORE; Gabi Ailes, STAN; Kaitlin Sather, UCLA;Kendall Bateman, USC; Cassie Robbins, WSU

2009 PAC-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Aug. 31 - Tiffany Owens, ARIZ; Sept. 8 -Renee Bordelon, WSU; Sept. 14 - Lauren Cook, UCLA; Sept. 21 - Rachel Rourke, OSU; Sept. 28 - Tamari Miyashiro, WASH; Oct. 5 - Alix Klineman, STAN; Oct. 12 -Janet Okogbaa, STAN; Oct. 19 - Sonja Newcombe, ORE; Oct. 26 - Hana Cutura, CAL

-www.pac-10.org-

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Rice's Tracey Lam Named as Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Rice's Tracey Lam Named as Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week

Oct. 26, 2009


Rice volleyball player Tracey Lam (San Francisco, Calif.) has been named as Conference USA's Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 26). Lam averaged a league-best 6.78 digs per set in two road matches last week. Her 27 digs at Tulsa Sunday tops the C-USA Individual Match best list for a four-set contest. In addition, her 34 digs at SMU ranks as the second-highest single match total this season. She averaged 6.8 digs at SMU and 6.75 digs at Tulsa. This is Lam's first Defensive Player of the Week honor in 2009 and seventh for her career. She is also Rice's career digs leader with 1,518 digs.

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: TCU Megan Munce Tabbed MWC Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: TCU Megan Munce Tabbed MWC Player of the Week 

FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU volleyball sophomore setter Megan Munce has been named MWC Player of the Week after her performance in two conference matches this past weekend. The honor is the second of her career and the fourth for the Horned Frogs this season.

Munce, a 5‐7 sophomore from Newport Beach, Calif., led TCU to an upset victory over No. 25 Colorado State (3‐0) and a win against Wyoming (3‐0) last week, which put the Horned Frogs in sole possession of second place in the conference standings.

Against 25th‐ranked CSU, Munce tallied her 10th double‐double of the season with 29 assists and 10 digs. She opened the contest with nine assists and five digs in the first set, and followed with 15 helpers, two digs and a service ace in the second set. Munce also tallied three aces, one kill and one block vs. the Rams.

Against Wyoming, she collected 32 assists, eight digs, an MWC season‐high tying six service aces and one block to go along with three kills.

On the week, Munce averaged 10.17 assists, 3.00 digs, 1.50 aces, 0.67 kills and 2.33 points per set.

Munce was selected as the MWC Player of the Week as a freshman. Three times this season Kourtney Edwards has been selected as the league’s Player of the Week.

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: UC Santa Barbara’s Rebecca Saraceno Big West Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: UC Santa Barbara’s Rebecca Saraceno Big West Player of the Week 

Big West Player of the Week - Monday, October 26, 2009

2009 Big West Women’s Volleyball

Irvine, Calif. - For the second straight week and fourth time this season, UC Santa Barbara’s Rebecca Saraceno (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo

Union HS) has captured Big West Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week Accolades. She becomes just the sixth player to garner four or more

weekly accolades in one season with the most recent being Cal Poly’s Kylie Atherstone, who received a league-high six honors in 2007.

Saraceno guided the Gauchos to a 2-0 week with wins over then-No. 19 UC Irvine and UC Riverside, improving their conference mark to 6-3. In

the five-set marathon at UC Irvine, the senior outside hitter notched her 13th double-double of the season with 28 kills and 13 digs. Friday’s outing

marked the fourth consecutive match in which Saraceno recorded at least 27 kills.

She followed up that stellar performance with a 13-kill, seven-dig outing in UC Santa Barbara’s sweep over UC Riverside Saturday night. In three

sets, Saraceno tallied a .162 hitting percentage and also recorded one service ace and one block.

For the week, Saraceno averaged 5.23 kills and 2.50 digs per game while hitting a .184 clip.

Others nominated: Brittney Herzog (Long Beach State), Betsy Sedlak (UC Davis), Alexandra Hauser (UC Irvine), Dominique Cowling (UC Riverside)

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Marshall Volleyball's Fleming and Sullivan Earn Conference USA Weekly Accolades

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Marshall Volleyball's Fleming and Sullivan Earn Conference USA Weekly Accolades 

Thundering Herd Sweeps Weekend Matches

 

IRVING, Texas – Elizabeth Fleming and Emily Sullivan were recognized as Conference USA Players of the Week, announced by league officials on Monday afternoon.  Fleming garnered C-USA Setter of the Week honors, while Sullivan earned C-USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week accolades with Hannah Stout of Tulsa.

Fleming dished out match-high totals of 41 and 38 assists in wins at Southern Miss and UCF.  In the 3-0 sweep of the Golden Eagles, she tallied a double-double to help defeat the league leader for the second time this season. In the two conference road matches, Fleming averaged 13.17 assists, a league-best for the week, and 3.00 digs per set. This is Fleming’s second Setter of the Week honor this year and eighth of her career.

Sullivan led the MU offense to a pair of 3-0 road wins this weekend. She averaged 4.67 kills and 4.92 points per set while hitting .434 (28K-5E-53TA). She tied for a match-high 16 kills at USM and registered 12 kills at UCF, which was a match-best. She also hit .469 (16K-1E-32TA) vs. USM. This is Sullivan’s first Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and second of her career.

“This was a great week for our team,” head coach Mitch Jacobs said.  “First and foremost, to have our team fully healthy again for a week of practice really made a big difference.  Secondly, for Emily and Liz to be recognized for these awards was truly deserved for their excellent play throughout the weekend.  In this conference you have so many great players playing at an incredibly high level that it really takes a special effort to get recognized.”

 

Next on the schedule for the Herd is a trip to Houston, Texas, to play Rice on Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a match against Houston on Halloween, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m. ET.

 

www.HerdZone.com

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Ashley Hughes Named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Ashley Hughes Named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week 

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Big Ten Conference announced today that Ohio State's setter Ashley Hughes has been named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week by the conference office. She shares the honor with Minnesota's Tabitha Love.

Hughes directed the Buckeyes to 3-1 victories over Purdue (25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-18) and Indiana (25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23) last weekend. The weekend wins were OSU's first weekend sweep of conference opponents in 19 weeks dating back to 2007 with wins at Iowa (3-0) and at Minnesota (3-2). It was the first home weekend sweep since the last weekend in 2006 with wins over Northwestern (3-0) and Illinois (3-0) (24 weeks).

Against Purdue, Hughes posted 48 assists against the Boilermakers, adding seven digs, five kills (.667) and a solo block. In the Indiana match, she posted career-highs of 53 assists and 19 digs against the Hoosiers. Hughes added three kills (.429), one ace serve and three assist blocks in the match.

Hughes has started at setter in the last seven matches for the Buckeyes and has eight starts overall, playing in 12 matches. For the season, she is averaging 9.65 assists and 2.03 digs per set.

Ohio State (17-6, 5-5 Big Ten, tied for fifth) travels to play top-ranked Penn State (22-0, 10-0, first) at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday in a match that will be shown live on the Big Ten Network. The Buckeyes close out the week by hosting seventh-ranked Minnesota (17-5, 8-2) at 7 p.m. ET Saturday in St. John Arena.  

##ohiostatebuckeyes.com##

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Martina Racic and Breanna Cullity Snag NEC Volleyball Honors

College Volleyball Players Honored Week 9: Martina Racic and Breanna Cullity Snag NEC Volleyball Honors

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A pair of Long Island University volleyball players garnered league recognition after the Blackbirds earned a pair of wins last week to remain undefeated in the Northeast Conference. Senior Martina Racic (Pula, Croatia) was named the NEC Player of the Week and freshman Breanna Cullity (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took home NEC Rookie of the Week honors.

 

Racic recorded match-highs in kills in each of the Blackbirds wins. She turned in 22 kills, 11 digs and an ace in a 3-2 win over Robert Morris on Oct. 24. In a sweep of Saint Francis (Pa.) on Oct. 25, Racic tallied 11 kills, six digs and two aces. For the week, she averaged 4.12 kills and 2.12 digs per set while hitting .343. This is the senior’s first weekly honor of the season and third for Long Island as classmate Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) was selected twice earlier in the year.

 

Cullity turned in averages of 2.25 kills and 1.62 blocks per set over two matches. In the victory over Robert Morris, she amassed 11 kills and four blocks. Against Saint Francis, the freshman had seven kills and nine blocks while hitting .600. For the week she hit .367. This is the middle blocker’s second NEC Rookie of the Week selection; she also earned the award on Oct. 12.

 

Long Island will hit the road to take on Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, Oct. 30. First serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.