Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Lizzie Stephens, Ohio, OH
Sophomore - Dallas, Texas/Frisco
Sophomore outside hitter Lizzie Stephens (Dallas, Texas) put together a huge weekend to help the Ohio volleyball team (13-13, 7-5) put together its first 2-0 conference weekend of the 2017 season with a pair of victories over Mid-American Conference East Division rivals at the Convocation Center. She hit at a .384 pace with a team-high 37 kills (6.17 per set), led the team with six service aces (1.00 per set) and added two assisted blocks (0.33 per set), two assists (0.33 per set) and 12 digs (2.00 per set). Stephens hit a career-high .424 with a match-high 18 kills on 33 attack attempts as Ohio earned a 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-21) sweep of Akron last Friday (Oct. 27). She also tallied a service ace, an assisted block and five digs. The Bobcats hit .290 with 40 kills in the win. Ohio earned its 15th-straight win over the Zips. On Saturday (Oct. 28), Stephens totaled a match-high 19 kills and tied a career-high five service aces as Ohio swept Buffalo, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22). She finished the night hitting .350 and added seven digs and an assisted block. The Bobcats dominated with a .310 hitting percentage with 49 kills while limiting the Bulls to a .198 hitting percentage with 36 kills. Ohio also served a match-high seven aces. The 53 digs by the Bobcats marked the team's third-most in a three-set match this year. Ohio snapped Buffalo's five-match winning streak with the win. The Bobcats improved to 38-3 (.927) all-time against the Bulls.
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Jayla Wesley, Central Michigan, Middle Blocker
Sophomore - West Bloomfield, Mich./ Walled Lake Central
Central Michigan posted two come-back five-set victories in Mid-American play last weekend and improved to 13-11 overall. Sophomore Jayla Wesley led the Chippewas offensively as she recorded a 44.9 hitting percentage (25-of-49). The West Bloomfield, Mich. native garnered 25 kills, and five total blocks in two matches. On Friday, Wesley posted 14 kills and four blocks as the Chippewas topped Ball State in five sets. The following day, the sophomore had 11 kills with a 52.4 hitting percentage to help defeat Toledo, 3-2. Wesley is averaging 1.72 points per set and 1.29 kills per set with a 27.1 hitting percentage (72-177).
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Libero
Junior - Oregon, Ohio/Clay
Junior libero Kallie Seimet continued to be a defensive force for the Falcons as she posted a team-high of 33 digs in the 3-1 win over Miami at home, which marked her eighth 30+ dig match of the season. Seimet then recorded her 17th 20+ dig match of the season when she earned a team-high of 26 at Western Michigan. Seimet has now reached 1,428 career digs, which ranks sixth overall in program history, while the junior also continues to lead the country with her 619 total digs this season, as well as with a 6.88 digs per set average. With an error-free reception against the RedHawks, Seimet also posted six straight matches of perfect serve receive.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Maurissa Leonard, Toledo, L
Junior - Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula
Led the team on the defensive end with 6.00 digs per set, she had 22 in the win over Eastern Michigan and 26 the next night against Central Michigan…started off very strong against the Eagles, recording 10 digs in the first set and eight in the second…also started off well against the Chippewas, tallying 10 digs in the first set that night as well…she now has 539 digs on the season, her third 500-plus dig season of her career; she now has three of the five 500-plus dig seasons in team history…her 1615 career digs are second-highest and 121 away from tying the career record (Lora Sarich, 1,736)…in her last six matches, she has averaged 7.26 digs per set….she was third in the MAC in digs/set coming into the weekend.

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Other Nominees: 
 
Kate Avila, Ball State, Libero
Sophomore - Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown
Sophomore libero Kate Avila turned in another spectacular weekend, starting by tying her career high with 36 digs in Friday’s match versus Central Michigan. She followed with 22 digs in the win over Eastern Michigan to finish the weekend with a team-best 58 digs for a 5.80 digs-per-set average. Avila has collected at least 20 digs in each of the last seven matches and has raised her career total to 996 which leaves her four shy of becoming the 17th player, and third-fastest, in program history to reach 1,000 career digs. She also led Ball State’s primary passers with a .964 (53 for 55) reception percentage despite seeing her streak of consecutive matches without a reception error snapped at seven versus EMU.
 
Annie Beasley, Toledo, MH/OH
Senior - Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North
Led the team this past weekend in hitting (.396)…in the win over Eastern Michigan, she had nine kills and his .400…in the five-setter against Central Michigan she had 14 kills and hit .393 while also adding four total blocks…has now hit at least .300 or better in five of her last six matches; during that timeframe she is hitting .384…had three kills each in the second and third sets against EMU, ended the match .545 to help the Rockets close out the Eagles in three sets…she was a big reason why Toledo won sets two and four against CMU, hitting .700 combined and adding six kills and two blocks…third in the MAC in hitting coming into the weekend at .341; raised her hitting percentage to .346 after this weekend.
 
Kelsey Bittinger, Kent State, Outside Hitter
Senior - Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville
Senior outside hitter Kelsey Bittinger’s versatility was on display, as she tallied 25 digs (4.17/set) and 4 blocks (0.67/set) while also leading the offense with 26 kills (4.33/set) and a .354 hitting percentage in leading Kent State to a weekend split. In the Golden Flashes’ 3-0 win over rival Akron, Bittinger had 16 digs and 4 blocks to lead a defense that held the Zips to a .134 hitting percentage. Only 1 Akron player hit better than .150 for the match. Bittinger tallied 9 digs on Friday against Buffalo. One of the MAC’s top six-rotation players over each of the past three seasons, she ranks third on Kent State’s career kills list (1,421) and fifth on the career digs list (1,276).
 
Anna Brereton, NIU, Libero
Senior - Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie
NIU senior Anna Brereton averaged 4.71 digs per set as the Huskies split a pair of matches against Western Michigan and Miami. In the first match of the week against the Broncos, Brereton recorded 15 digs, had an ace and was perfect in 24 service receptions as the Huskies downed the Broncos in four sets. Against Miami, the Sun Prairie, Wis., native had 18 digs, just one service reception error and an ace. Brereton currently ranks third in NIU history with 1,828 career digs.
 
Sara Januszewski, Ohio, MB/OH
Sophomore, Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek
Sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Sara Januszewski (Oak Creek, Wis.) helped help Ohio volleyball team (13-13, 7-5) put together its first 2-0 conference weekend of the 2017 season with a pair of victories over Mid-American Conference East Division rivals at the Convocation Center. She led the Bobcats with seven assisted blocks (1.17 per set) and also chipped in five kills (0.83 per set). Januszewski tallied a match-high four assisted blocks and had two kills as Ohio earned a 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-21) sweep of Akron last Friday (Oct. 27). On Saturday (Oct. 28), she led the match with three assisted blocks and also had three kills as Ohio swept Buffalo, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22).
 
Megan Kern, Central Michigan, Defensive Specialist
Sophomore - LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township
Central Michigan posted two come-back five-set victories in Mid-American play last weekend and improved to 13-11 overall. Sophomore Megan Kern led the Chippewas defensively in both matches. She posted 52 digs, seven assists and two service aces over the weekend. Kern averaged 5.20 digs per set and 0.70 assists per set. On Friday, Kern garnered 23 digs with no reception error and three assists in a 3-2 victory over Ball State. The following day at Toledo, the LaGrange, Ill. native recorded 29 digs and four assists in five sets. Kerm leads the team with 348 digs (3.87 dps) and ranks second with 22 service aces.
 
Isabel Kovacic, Bowling Green, Outside Hitter/Right Side
Junior - Littleton, Colo. / Araphoe
Junior Isabel Kovacic led the Falcons offensively this week, as she topped the team in total kills while hitting .300. Kovacic’s 14 kills against the RedHawks topped a team in which four players earned double-digit kills, where all four players also hit above .225. In the 3-1 road win at Western Michigan, Kovacic earned a team-high of 16 kills paired with a hitting percentage of .278. The 16 kills were a new season-high for the Littleton, Colo. native, while she also earned six digs and a team-high of four total blocks, helping the team mark its ninth match of the season with double-digit blocks.
 
Sydney LeMay, Western Michigan, Middle Blocker
Senior - Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg
Sydney Lemay finished the weekend averaging 3.25 kills per set in losses to Northern Illinois and Bowling Green. In a tight match against the Huskies, which resulted in each set being won by three or fewer points, LeMay had 16 kills and 4.0 blocks. She hit .290 on the night and finished with 18.5 points. Against the Flacons she reached double-digit kills for the 11th time in MAC play, finishing with 10.
 
Jessica Lindsey, Ball State, OH
Senior - Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East
Senior outside hitter Jessica Lindsey celebrated senior weekend by putting together the best weekend of her collegiate career, leading the Ball State offense with 26 kills and a .344 attack percentage. In Friday’s loss to CMU, Lindsey tied her career high entering the weekend with 12 kills, while connecting for a .367 (12-1-30) attack percentage. She also secured a season-high three digs and a solo block. In Saturday’s win over Eastern Michigan, Lindsey smashed a career-high 14 kills to help ensure her senior night ended with a nail-biting 3-2 (18-25, 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13) victory. With the Cardinals trailing 9-6 in the fifth set, Lindsey smashed back-to-back markers to draw her squad within one at 9-8. After the Eagles (11-17; 3-9 MAC) battled back to pull ahead 11-8, Lindsey added her 14th and final kill of the night to help the hosts rally back within one for a second time on their way to the eventual victory.
 
Kaylee Martin, NIU, Outside Hitter
Freshman - Sterling, Ill./Sterling
NIU freshman Kaylee Martin averaged 5.14 kills and 5.79 points for the week as the Huskies split a pair of matches against Western Michigan and Miami. Martin tallied double-doubles in both matches, her seventh and eighth of the season, and hit .229 for the week. In the first match of the week against the Broncos, the freshman from Sterling, Ill., recorded 26 kills, added three blocks and tallied 13 digs as the Huskies topped Western Michigan in four sets; Martin hit .339 against the Broncos. In the weekend finale, Martin added 10 more kills and 10 digs, along with a block, against Miami. Martin has recorded double-doubles in four-straight matches and currently leads the MAC in both kills and points per set during conference play.
 
Maeve McDonald, Miami, Libero
Senior - Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids
McDonald continued to pile up the digs as she led the RedHawk defense. She finished with 45 digs in seven sets, an impressive average of 6.43 digs per set. She also showed that she can fill in when the Miami setter gets the dig, averaging 1.00 assist per set as well. McDonald started the week with 24 digs against Bowling Green. She followed that up with 21 digs in the win at Northern Illinois on Saturday. She and the Miami defense held the Huskies to a .041 attack percentage for the match.
 
Katie Tomasic, Miami, Right Side Hitter
Senior - Livonia, Mich./Livonia Stevenson
Tomasic continued to lead Miami from the right side this past week. She had a team-high 21 kills, averaging 3.00 kills per set. She made only five errors in 66 attempts for a .286 attack percentage. Against Bowling Green, Tomasic had 10 kills. She was even better in the win at NIU, putting down 11 kills and attacking .346. She had three block assists against the Huskies and finished the week having scored 22.5 points, an average of 3.21 per set.
 
Megan Wernette, Buffalo, Middle Blocker
Junior - Naperville, IL/Naperville North
Junior Megan Wernette led the Bulls to a weekend split on the road as the Bulls defeated Kent State 3-0 on Friday before falling at Ohio on Saturday.  In the sweep of the Golden Flashes, Wernette had 11 kills and just three errors as she hit .308.  She was the best player for the Bulls against Ohio as she had 12 kills on 20 swings, hitting .450.  It was a big weekend for Wernette, who had missed the previous four matches due to injury.