Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Kelsey Bittinger, Kent State, Outside Hitter
Senior – Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville
Kelsey Bittinger led the offensive attack (3.88 kills/set) and made a solid back row contribution (3.12 digs/set) as Kent State won both of its matches over the weekend. The senior six-rotation player made several big swings for the Golden Flashes and hit .321 over the two matches. Bittinger started the week with 15 kills in a five-set victory against Ohio. Trailing 2-0 in the decisive fifth set, Bittinger got the Flashes on the board with a kill and added three more kills during an 8-0 run that put Kent State in control of the set. On Saturday, she recorded a season-best .469 hitting percentage with 16 kills and only one error on 32 attempts. After CMU fought off consecutive set point opportunities, Bittinger posted two kills in a row to give the Flashes the opening set, 27-25, and set the tone for a 3-0 sweep. She has double-digit kills in seven straight matches and four consecutive double-doubles.
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Kaylee Martin, Northern Illinois, Outside Hitter
Freshman – Sterling, Ill./Sterling
NIU freshman Kaylee Martin averaged 5.00 kills and 5.83 points per set to help lead the Huskies to a weekend sweep over Toledo and Ball State. The Sterling, Ill., native recorded 45 total kills and 24 digs in NIU’s two victories. On Friday against Toledo, Martin posted 24 kills, hitting .309 with a pair of aces and 10 digs to help lift the Huskies to a 3-1 victory over the Rockets. Martin’s 24 kills and 10 digs were good for her third double-double of the season. The next night, Martin added 21 kills and 14 digs for her fourth double-double, along with four blocks and two aces, as NIU claimed its third-straight win, topping Ball State in five sets.
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Libero
Junior – Oregon, Ohio/Clay
Junior libero Kallie Seimet recorded 30 digs in Friday's 3-1 victory over Buffalo, posting her fifth 30+ dig match of the season, including her third in five league contests. The Oregon, Ohio native continued to lead the Falcons as she tallied 21 digs in the 3-0 sweep of Akron, making it her 13th 20+ dig match of the season. Seimet also continues to lead the nation, as she averages 6.73 digs per set.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Annie Beasley, Toledo, MH/OH
Senior – Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North
Led the team this past weekend in total kills (24), kills per set (3.80), hitting percentage (.380), total blocks (17), and blocks per set (2.12)…had a career-high 10 block assists in the win over Western Michigan on Saturday…17 total blocks were her most in a weekend this season…second on the team this season with a .333 hitting percentage and leads the Rockets by averaging 1.00 blocks/set…her 10 blocks assists marked the seventh time in school history a player had double-digits in that category in a single match (last time it happened: Brooke Frazier on Nov. 7, 2013).
 

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Other Nominees: 
 
Kate Avila, Ball State, Libero
Sophomore – Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown
Ball State sophomore libero Kate Avila led the Ball State defense with 36 digs last weekend, including 21 in Saturday’s match versus Northern Illinois. She also paced the Cardinals’ primary passers with a 1.000 reception percentage, successfully passing all 44 serves she faced on the weekend.
 
Anna Brereton, Northern Illinois, Libero
Senior – Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie
NIU senior Anna Brereton averaged 4.89 digs per set to help the Huskies earn a weekend sweep on the road at Toledo and Ball State. Brereton started the weekend with 22 digs in a 3-1 victory at Toledo, the Sun Prairie, Wis., native added an ace as the Huskies held the Rockets to just .200 hitting in the match. In the second match of the weekend against Ball State, Brereton collected another 22 digs, a match-high, along with four aces, in a five-set victory over the Cardinals. Brereton passed the 1,700 career digs mark on Friday against Toledo and currently has 1,735, third-best in NIU history.
 
Challen Geraghty, Kent State, Libero
Senior – Louisville, KY/Holy Cross
Libero Challen Geraghty tallied 5.75 digs per set to lead a Kent State defense that held its opponents to a .119 hitting percentage as part of a 2-0 conference weekend. The Golden Flashes did not allow their opponents to hit better than .167 in any of the eight sets. Geraghty started the week with 25 digs against Ohio, which saw the Golden Flashes hold the Bobcats to a .098 hitting percentage in the decisive fifth set. On Saturday, Geraghty totaled 21 digs in a sweep at Central Michigan and helped Kent State limit the Chippewas to a season-low .092 hitting percentage. The senior has recorded at least 20 digs in four straight matches and has 57 20-dig performances in her career. Geraghty, who passed Eastern Michigan’s Ashley Cudney for eighth on the MAC’s career digs list with 2,218, has been the match leader in digs in every conference match this season.
 
Brooklyn Goodsel, Ball State, Outside Hitter
Junior – Corry, PA/Corry Area
Junior outside Brooklyn Goodsel paced the Ball State offense with 33 kills last weekend, including tying her career high with 21 versus Northern Illinois (Oct. 7). She finished the week with a pair of kill/dig double-doubles, averaging 3.67 kills and 2.33 digs per set. She also finished the weekend with a .955 (63 for 66) reception percentage.
 
Vera Giacomazzi, Ohio, Setter
Freshman – San Vendemiano, Italy/Liceo Scientifio G. Marconi
Freshman setter Vera Giacomazzi (San Vendemiano, Italy) helped the Ohio volleyball team (9-11, 3-3 MAC) split a pair of road matches last weekend. Giacomazzi led the Bobcats with 103 assists (10.30 per set) and 34 digs (3.40 per set). She also ranked second on the team with three service aces (0.30 per set) and third with six total blocks (one solo, five assisted; 0.60 per set) and added five kills (0.50 per set). Giacomazzi achieved her sixth career double-double and third in a row with 46 assists and 16 digs as the Bobcats rallied from a 2-0 deficit but could not complete the comeback, falling to MAC East Division rival Kent State, 3-2 (25-18, 25-12, 17-25, 27-29, 15-12), last Thursday (Oct. 5) at the M.A.C. Center. She also totaled four kills, three total blocks (one solo, two assisted) and two service aces. Giacomazzi then achieved her seventh career double-double and fourth in a row with a match-high 57 assists and 18 digs as Ohio prevailed over Eastern Michigan, 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13), on Saturday (Oct. 7) at EMU's Convocation Center. She also had a kill, a service ace and three assisted blocks.
 
Tia Jimerson, Ohio, Middle Blocker
Freshman – Sugar Hill, GA/Norcross
Freshman middle blocker Tia Jimerson (Sugar Hill, Ga.) helped the Ohio volleyball team (9-11, 3-3 MAC) split a pair of road matches last weekend. Jimerson hit .318 with a team-high 40 kills (4.00 per set) and ranked second on the squad with seven total blocks (four solo, three assisted; 0.70 per set) and fourth with 29 digs (2.90 per set). Jimerson put together a huge effort for the Bobcats as Ohio rallied from a 2-0 deficit but could not complete the comeback, falling to MAC East Division rival Kent State, 3-2 (25-18, 25-12, 17-25, 27-29, 15-12), last Thursday (Oct. 5) at the M.A.C. Center. She tallied a match-high 21 kills and a career-high 17 digs for her third-straight double-double. She also tallied an assisted block. She hit at a .425 clip in the loss. Jimerson then hit .229 with 19 kills and posted a double-double with 12 digs for her fourth-straight double-double as Ohio prevailed over Eastern Michigan, 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13), on Saturday (Oct. 7) at EMU's Convocation Center. She tied for the team lead with six total blocks (four solo, two assisted) and also added an assist.
 
Maeve McDonald, Miami, Libero
Senior – Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids
McDonald helped the RedHawk defense to two wins last week. She had 52 digs in eight sets, an impressive 6.50 digs per set average. She made only one reception error in 33 attempts for a .970 reception percentage. Against Buffalo, McDonald led Miami with 25 digs. She increased that to 27 in the four-set win over Akron the next night. The RedHawk defense held their two opponents to a .184 attack percentage this week.
 
Kathleen Reilly, Western Michigan, Libero
Sophomore – Overland Park, Kan./St. James
Despite the losses over the weekend, sophomore Libero Kathleen Reilly put in a stellar defensive performance. Reilly averaged 6.38 digs per set over the weekend, with 16 against Ball State and a season-high 35 against Toledo. Against the Cardinals she also went a perfect 31-for-31 in serve receipts, and helping hold BSU’s hitting percentage to .113. Against the Rockets she went 43-for-46 on serve receipts and also helped hold UT’s hitting percentage to .120. With Reilly’s help the Broncos remain in the top 25 in the nation, currently at 21, in opponent hitting percentage at .154. Reilly also upped her digs per set average to 5.16 and her serve receive percentage to .956.  
 
Olivia Rusek, Miami, Outside Hitter
Senior – Slokie, Ill./Niles West
Rusek continued the roll she has been on during MAC play. She recorded 30 kills in Miami’s two wins last week, averaging 3.75 kills per set. She dominated in a six-rotation role, finishing with a double-double in both matches. Rusek had 15 kills and 10 digs in win over Buffalo and followed it up with 15 kills and 11 digs in victory over Akron the next night. She averaged 2.62 digs per set and averaged 4.12 points per set.
 
Cassie Shado, Buffalo, Middle Blocker
Senior – Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor
Senior Cassie Shado led the Bulls both offensively and defensively this past weekend during tough road trip at Miami and Bowling Green.  Shado began the weekend on Thursday as she had 14 kills and hit .370 against the defending regular season MAC Champions, Miami.  Shado also finished with a match-high eight blocks, including three solos.  She kept up those solid blocking numbers against Bowling Green with eight blocks, including two solos and six block assists.  She increased her kill total with 16 against BG and just two errors, hitting .400.  For the weekend, Shado averaged 2.00 blocks per set and 3.75 kills per set.  She also averaged just over 5.00 points per set.
 
Taylor Sharrits, Defensive Specialist
Freshman - Concord, Ohio/Lake Catholic
Freshman defensive specialist, Taylor Sharrits had a productive two-game outing against Miami, and Bowling Green. In the match against Bowling Green, Sharrits connected on a match-high 24 digs, averaging eight digs per set and also had the teams’ only service ace. For the weekend, Sharrits recorded 10 assists, averaging 1.43 assists per set, while garnering 42 total digs averaging six digs per set.
 
Nicole Slimko, Bowling Green, Outside Hitter
Senior – Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South
Senior Nicole Slimko marked the highest hitting percentage of the Bowling Green squad at .309 paired with a team-high of 20 kills over the course of the weekend’s two matches. In a 3-1 victory over Buffalo on Friday evening, the Crystal Lake, Ill. native tallied a new season-high percentage as she hit .364 against the Zips, while in the comeback of the second set against Buffalo, Slimko recorded the back-to-back kills for a 26-24 victory. On Saturday evening, Slimko included a blocking game that lifted the Falcons to an 8-0 run to regain the lead midway through the third set, which ultimately sealed the sweep over the Zips. With 2.66 kills per set average, the senior leads the team offensively this season.
 
Jordan Smith, Eastern Michigan, Outside Hitter
Junior – Solon, Iowa/Solon
Usually relied on for her offensive production, over the weekend Jordan Smith provided a career-best performance defensively while maintaining a strong offensive performance. The junior came just two digs shy (19) of a career-high in a five-set loss to Central Michigan Oct. 5, and followed up that effort with a career-best 22 digs in another heartbreaking five-set loss to Ohio, Oct. 7. In the Ohio loss, the Solon, Iowa native also led the Eagles with a season-high 20 kills and hit .241 in the match. It was Smith’s seventh double-double of the season, and the first of her career with 20+ kills and digs.