Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Olivia Rusek, Miami, Outside Hitter
Senior – Skokie, Ill./Niles West
Rusek had her best overall week of the season from the outside in a six-rotation role. She put down 30 big kills, averaging 3.00 per set. She also had 26 digs, an average of 2.60 per set. Against Ohio on Friday, she had a double-double of 13 kills and 16 digs to go with two solo blocks. In Miami’s five-set win over Kent State on Saturday, Rusek had another double-double with 17 kills and 10 digs. She added a block assist. Rusek scored 33.5 points this weekend, averaging a team-leading 3.35 points per set.
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Rachel Bontrager, Western Michigan, Outside Hitter
Freshman – Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso
Rachel Bontrager played key roles in both of WMU’s wins on the weekend. Against Central Michigan she had a match-high 17 kills, out-dueling CMU’s Jordan Bueter, who finished with 16. Bontrager also had a career-high four aces in WMU’s 3-1 win over the Chippewas and a .448 attacking percentage. In WMU’s 3-1 win over Eastern Michigan she had 13 kills and 14 digs for her fourth career double-double. She also finished with five total blocks (1 solo, 4 assist) on the night. For the weekend, to help WMU remain undefeated in the MAC, she averaged 3.75 kills per set and averaged 4.81 points per set. Bontrager raised her season average in kills per set to 3.17.
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Katie Kidwell, Bowing Green, Middle Blocker
Freshman - Warseka, Ill./Watseka Community
Freshman Katie Kidwell was a defensive force for the Falcons in a 3-1 win at Kent State, earning a total of 11 blocks on the night, in one solo and 10 block assists. The 11 blocks is a new season-high for the Bowling Green squad, while Kidwell also earned seven kills and three digs against the Golden Flashes. Kidwell followed it up with another strong performance when she earned seven kills and four total blocks, while hitting .286 at Ohio in a 3-1 comeback victory. On the weekend, Kidwell earned a team-leading 15 total blocks, averaging a MAC-best 1.88 blocks per set, in addition to having an error-free weekend on the serve receive.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Kathleen Reilly, Western Michigan, Libero
Sophomore – Overland Park, Kan./St. James
Kathleen Reilly’s defensive effort helped Western Michigan remain unbeaten in MAC play after a pair of 3-1 wins over Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Reilly helped hold the Chippewa attack to a .210 hitting percentage on the night. Reilly had 21 digs and was a perfect 32-for-32 on receive attempts. Against the Eagles she had 25 digs and helped hold the Eagles to a .177 hitting percentage. The sophomore libero was also 42-for-43 on receive attempts. For the weekend she averaged 5.75 digs per set to help raise her season total to 5.0. Combined, she had a receive error percentage of .987 and increased her season average to .955.
 

 
Other Nominees:

Kate Avila, Ball State, Libero
Sophomore – Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown
Ball State sophomore libero Kate Avila turned in another solid weekend in the backcourt, averaging 5.83 digs per set to help the Cardinals limit opposing teams to a .202 attack percentage. In Thursday’s match at Toledo, Avila logged a match-high 20 digs, marking the fourth time this season and the 13th time in her career Avila has tallied 20-or-more digs in a match. In Saturday’s win over Buffalo, Avila once again led all players with 15 digs and paced Ball State's primary passers with a .929 (12 of 13) reception percentage. With her 35 digs last weekend, Avila raised her career total to 792. She is 122 digs shy of breaking into the top 20 in program history, while her 13 career matches with 20-or-more digs is seventh on Ball State’s career charts.
 
Samantha Falco, Eastern Michigan, Middle Blocker
Senior – Antioch, Ill./Antioch
Falco once again gave an impressive performance along the front line for Eastern Michigan’s 1-1 week, averaging 1.89 kills per set and 1.44 blocks per set. The Antioch, Ill., native leads EMU, who leads the MAC in blocks per set with a 2.47 mark, with an average of 1.10 blocks per set. The Eagles are also second in the conference in opponent attack percentage with a .167 mark. The senior finished the week with a .389 attack percentage, heling EMU to its road win at Northern Illinois with 11 kills and 11 blocks in its 3-2 victory. The 11 blocks were a career-best for Falco.
 
Challen Geraghty, Kent State, Libero
Senior – Louisville, KY/Holy Cross
Libero Challen Geraghty is Kent State’s new all-time digs leader (2,172) after tallying 57 digs (6.33/set) in a pair of hard-fought matches, which included a point-shortened fifth set, over the weekend. Geraghty led all players in digs for both matches and was perfect in service reception as she moved into 9th on the Mid-American Conference career digs list. Her weekend started with a 28-dig performance against Bowling Green in which the Falcons were held to their lowest hitting percentage (.133) of the conference season. On Saturday, Geraghty broke the program digs record that had been held by Laura Jensen (2004-07) by recording a match-high 29 digs. She now has 53 matches with 20 or more digs in her career. One of the best in the conference at controlling the ball in serve-receive, the Golden Flashes’ opponents elected not to serve in her vicinity most of the time, as she was fourth on the team with just 29 attempts.
 
Vera Giacomazzi, Ohio, Setter
Freshman – San Vendemiano, Italy/Liceo Scientifio G. Marconi
Freshman setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) helped the Ohio volleyball team (8-10, 2-2 MAC) split a pair of home matches against Mid-American Conference East Division rivals last weekend at the Convocation Center. Giacomazzi led the Bobcats with 104 assists (11.56) and ranked second on the squad in digs (40; 4.44 per set) and third in total blocks (six; six assisted; 0.67 per set) over two matches on the second weekend of league play. She also tallied two kills (0.22 per set) and two service aces (0.22 per set). Giacomazzi led the match with 46 kills and achieved her fourth career double-double with a career-high 19 digs as Ohio emerged victorious over archrival Miami, 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 17-25, 15-13), in the first 'Battle of the Bricks' matchup of the 2017 season between the two programs on Friday (Sept. 29). She also totaled a kill and a career-high four assisted blocks. Giazomazzi then dished out a match-high 58 assists as Ohio fell to Bowling Green, 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22), on Saturday (Sept. 30), marking the fourth time she has tallied 50 or more assists. She also recorded a kill, two assisted blocks and a service ace and achieved her fifth career double-double and second in a row with a career-high 21 digs.
 
Cassie Haut, Eastern Michigan, Right Side
R-Sophomore – Monroe, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central
Haut continued her gradual improvement on the season with a strong weekend on the road for Eastern Michigan. Her 23 total kills led the team, while her .260 attack percentage was tops among pin hitters. The redshirt sophomore also finished the weekend with 10 total blocks (second on the team) and a 1.11 blocks per set average. The Monroe, Mich., native has had double-digit kill performances in five of her last seven matches, and in the two matches she failed to reach 10 kills she finished with nine.
 
Jessica Kloehn, Akron, Middle Blocker
R-Senior - Milwaukee, Wis./Nicolet
During the weekend, Jessica Kloehn averaged a .273 hitting percentage securing 20 kills. In the match against Toledo, Kloehn recorded a team-high five block assists adding to her season leading total, 50. Kloehn leads the Zips’ offense with a .282 hitting percentage.
 
Maurissa Leonard, Toledo, Libero
Junior – Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula
Leonard led the Rockets in both matches over the weekend in digs with 18 against Ball State and 22 against Akron. Leonard with 40 digs over the weekend moved into the career top five at Toledo in digs. Leonard registered 5.00 digs per set in eight sets over the weekend while also recording six assists overall. Leonard ranks 18th in the NCAA in total digs with 326. Heading into the weekend, Leonard ranked fifth in the MAC with 4.98 digs per set. Leonard is the key contributor to the Rockets ranking third in the conference with 16.00 digs per set.
 
Maeve McDonald, Miami, Libero
Senior – Grand Rapid, Mich./East Grand Rapids
McDonald continued to lead the Miami defense as it held opponents to a .110 attack percentage in two five-set matches last week. She averaged 4.80 digs per set, recording 48 total digs. She even stood in at setter for a set against Ohio as Miami went back to its traditional 6-2 offense before reverting back to a 5-1. Against the Bobcats, McDonald finished with 21 digs. She upped that to 27 digs against Kent State as the RedHawks came away with a victory.
 
Nicole Slimko, Bowling Green, Outside Hitter
Senior – Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South
In a 3-1 comeback win at Ohio, senior Nicole Slimko led the team with 16 kills, paired with a team-high hitting percentage of .302 of the night. A native of Crystal Lake, Ill., Slimko was a well-rounded presence on the court, also posting four total blocks. Slimko’s .302 hitting percentage is a new season-high when she tallies 10 or more digs, while her 16 digs marked her sixth match of double-digit kills on the season. With 2.63 kills per set average, the senior leads the team offensively this season.
 
Saige Thomas, Toledo, Outside Hitter
Senior – Corpus Christi, Tex./Calallen
In both matches over the weekend against Ball State and Akron, Saige Thomas was the leader for the Rockets in kills with 15 against Ball State and 13 against Akron. Her 28 kills in two matches led the Rockets. Thomas averaged 3.50 kills per set over the weekend along with averaging 4.00 points per set. Of the 16 matches played this season, Thomas has recorded double digit kills in 10. In the three-set victory over Ball State, Thomas registered 15 kills while recording a staggering .400 attack percentage. Thomas leads the Midnight Blue and Gold with 182 kills and also leads the team with 2.89 kills per set. In her career Thomas has accumulated 3,008 attack attempts, which ranks 7th all-time in Toledo history. Thomas is also a mere 59 kills away from reaching 1,000 career kills, becoming just the 10th player in school history to achieve that mark.
 
Sydnee VanBeek, Ball State, MH
Senior – St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian
Sophomore middle Sydnee VanBeek led the Ball State offense with a .405 (18-3-37) attack percentage last week, smashing 18 total kills over the Cardinals’ two matches. In Saturday’s win over Buffalo, VanBeek paced all players with a career-best .643 attack percentage, blasting nine kills on 14 swings with no errors. She also led all players at the net with a match-high three total blocks. In Thursday’s contest at Toledo, VanBeek scored nine kills and hit .261 (9-3-25).
 
Meg Wolowicz, Northern Illinois, Middle Blocker
Junior – Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln
NIU junior Meg Wolowicz tallied 29 kills and 15 blocks, hitting .328 with 37.0 points as the Huskies split a pair of matches against Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Wolowicz opened the weekend with 14 kills, hitting .306, with seven blocks as the Huskies suffered a setback against Eastern Michigan in five sets. The Manitowoc, Wis., native posted 15 kills, hitting .357, with eight blocks and 19.0 points the next night in a four-set victory over Central Michigan. Against the Chippewas, Wolowicz had a pair of blocks in all four sets and was responsible for four of the final six points in the fourth set to close out the victory for the Huskies. Wolowicz’s weekend averages were 3.22 kills per set, 4.11 points per set and 1.67 blocks per set.