Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Olivia Rusek, Miami, Outside Hitter
Senior - Skokie, Ill./Niles West
Rusek continued the tear she was on, recording 33 kills on the weekend in leading Miami to its second straight regular season title. She averaged 4.71 kills per set and attacked at .284 from the antenna. Against Buffalo, Rusek tied a career-high with 21 kills and made it a double-double with 10 digs. She hit .340 for the match. She followed that up with 12 kills, six digs and three blocks in a straight set win over Akron on Saturday. Rusek scored 40.0 points in only seven sets this weekend, an average of an incredible 5.71 points per set.
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Meg Wolowicz, NIU, Middle Blocker
Junior - Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln
NIU junior Meg Wolowicz hit .404 and averaged 3.86 kills per set in the final weekend of the regular season. Wolowicz opened the weekend with 19 kills against Ball State (Nov. 10), hitting an incredible .516 against the Cardinals as she had just three errors in 31 swings. The following night in a three-set sweep over Toledo (Nov. 11), Wolowicz posted eight more kills and hit .238. The junior from Manitowoc, Wis., also had three blocks for the weekend and averaged 4.14 points per set.
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Maeve McDonald, Miami, Libero
Senior - Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids
McDonald made more history in two wins this weekend as she became the first RedHawk to record 600 digs in a single season. She finished with 52 digs in only seven sets, an amazing average of 7.43 digs per set. Against Buffalo, she had 33 digs in four sets. She also helped out with six assists, which was key after Mackenzie Zielinski went down with an injury. McDonald followed that up with 19 digs in the three-set win over Akron. She now has 625 digs this season, an average of 5.63 digs per set.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Kate Avila, Ball State, Libero
Sophomore - Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown
A three-time career MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honoree, Avila helped the Cardinals secure their first MAC West Division crown since 2013 by finishing Friday’s match at three-time defending division champion Northern Illinois with a match-high 25 digs. Avila also helped the Cardinals snap a four-match losing streak to the Huskies by adding a perfect reception percentage while facing a team-high 23 serves. Avila ended the regular season by collecting a team-high 24 digs at Western Michigan, helping the Cardinals secure the third seed in the MAC Tournament with the five-set victory over the Broncos.
 

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Other Nominees:

Ellie Dunn, Ball State, OH
Junior - Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland
Junior outside Ellie Dunn led the Ball State offense with a 3.00 kills-per-set average in wins at Northern Illinois and Western Michigan last week, helping the Cardinals lock up the Mid-American Conference West Division title and the third seed in the MAC Tournament. Ball State’s top attacker in each of the last five matches, Dunn led the Ball State offense with a team-high 13 kills in Friday’s win over three-time defending MAC West Division Champion Northern Illinois, helping the Cardinals secure their first divisional title since 2013. She also hit .300 (13-4-30) to help the Ball State snap a four-match losing streak to the Huskies, while adding two digs and a pair of block assists. Dunn continued to have the hot hand for the Cardinals offense in Saturday’s win at Western Michigan to lock up the third seed in the MAC Tournament, leading the team with 14 kills. Dunn also turned in another strong performance at the net Saturday versus the Broncos, securing a team-best five total blocks, including all three of Ball State solo stuffs. She also collected six digs. Over the last five matches, , Dunn has smashed 73 kills for the Cardinals which are 24 more than the next closest player, junior middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) at 49.
 
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 over the weekend, averaging 1.44 blocks per set in two crucial matches for the Eagles’ season. The 1.44 blocks per set was unofficially tied for the top mark in the MAC over the weekend and helped put her back on top of the conference standings in blocks per set for the season at 1.21. The Antioch, Ill., native leads EMU, who leads the MAC in blocks per set with a 2.49 mark, with an average of 1.21 blocks per set. The Eagles are also second in the conference in opponent attack percentage with a .174 mark.
 
Challen Geraghty, Kent State, Libero
Senior - Louisville, Ky./Holy Cross
Libero Challen Geraghty concluded her record-setting career with a spectacular weekend, recording 47 digs (6.71 /set) with 0 receiving errors in 44 attempts. Geraghty moved into 19th all-time in the NCAA Division I record book for career digs (2,441) with 28 digs on Senior Day against Eastern Michigan. She tallied a match-high 19 digs on Thursday at Ohio. For the week, Kent State held its opponents to a .169 hitting percentage. The two-time All-MAC First Team honoree’s 5.91 digs per set a new single-season program record and her 5.39 digs per set career average ranks 22nd in NCAA Division I history.
 
Cassie Haut, EMU, Outside Hitter
Redshirt Sophomore -Monroe, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central
Haut played a crucial role in the Eagles’ two wins over the weekend, registering a career-high 23 kills in a come-from-behind, 3-2 win at Central Michigan, and adding 12 more in a four-set win at Kent State. Haut finished the week with a 3.89 kills per set mark, added 1.89 digs per set, and had five blocks as well. Her 35 total kills and 17 digs were the best in a two-game span this season after spending the majority of the season as the Eagles’ right side attacker.
 
Tia Jimerson, Ohio, MB
Freshman - Sugar Hill, Ga./Norcross
Freshman middle blocker Tia Jimerson (Sugar Hill, Ga.) put together a strong defensive effort to help the Ohio volleyball team (16-14, 10-6 MAC) close out the 2017 regular season with a pair of victories at the Convocation Center and clinch in the No. 4 seed in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Championship. Jimerson led the squad with seven total blocks (two solo, five assisted; 1.17 per set) and also chipped in 17 kills (2.83 per set) to rank third on the team. She also had two digs (0.33 per set). Jimerson hit at a .250 pace with six kills and also had an assisted block to help Ohio sweep MAC East Division rival Kent State, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20), last Thursday (Nov. 9). She then finished with 11 kills, a match-high six total blocks (two solo, four assisted) and two digs to help the Bobcats sweep MAC West Division foe Central Michigan, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-21), last Saturday (Nov. 11). Olman has recorded five or more total blocks in a match nine times in 2017.
 
Sydney LeMay, Western Michigan, Middle Blocker
Senior - Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellog
Sydney LeMay helped WMU wrap up a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.  In the 3-1 win over Toledo she had 14 kills on the night and a .379 hitting percentage. LeMay also contributed with 4 blocks (1 solo, 3 assist) to score 18.50 points. In a five-set battle with Ball State she had 16 kills and a .286 hitting percentage, also contributing with another 4 blocks (1 solo, 3 assist). On the weekend she averaged 3.33 kills per set and 4.33 points per set, while hitting .328.
 
Stephanie Olman, Ohio, S/OH
Junior - Maumee, Ohio/Anthony Wayne
Junior setter/outside hitter Stephanie Olman (Maumee, Ohio) put together a solid offensive weekend to help the Ohio volleyball team (16-14, 10-6 MAC) close out the 2017 regular season with a pair of victories at the Convocation Center and clinch in the No. 4 seed in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Championship. Olman hit a team-best .354 and tied for the team lead with 22 kills (3.67 per set). She also posted two assisted blocks (0.33 per set) and a dig (0.17 per set). Olman recorded 10 kills, an assisted block and a dig to help Ohio sweep MAC East Division rival Kent State, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20), last Thursday (Nov. 9). She then hit a career-best .550 with 12 kills and also added an assisted block to help the Bobcats sweep MAC West Division foe Central Michigan, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-21), last Saturday (Nov. 11). Olman has tallied double-digit kills eight times this year.
 
Kathleen Reilly, Western Michigan, Libero
Sophomore - Overland Park, Kan./St. James Academy
Reilly averaged 4.56 digs per set and had a serve receipt percentage of .951 on the weekend as WMU wrapped up its spot in the MAC Tournament. In a 3-1 win over Toledo she had 16 digs and was a perfect 8-for-8 on serve receipts. In a five-set battle against Ball State she had a match-high 25 digs and went 31-for-33 on serve receipts.
 
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Libero
Junior - Oregon, Ohio/Clay
On Friday evening against the Zips, junior libero Kallie Seimet surpassed 1,500 career digs, and now tallies 1,534 over her three seasons, which ranks fifth overall in Bowling Green volleyball program history. A native of Oregon, Ohio, Seimet also marks 725 digs on the season, which is just two digs shy of setting the program record of digs in a season. With 27 digs at Buffalo, Seimet earned her 20th 20+ dig match of the season, while her defense helped the Falcons earn its best offensive numbers of the season.
 
Nicole Slimko, Bowling Green, Outside Hitter
Senior - Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South
Slimko was a strong contribution to the Bowling Green offense this past weekend as she led the offensive line with a season-high hitting percentage of .557 in the sweep of Akron while producing a team-high of 16 kills. With Slimko’s offense, the Falcons posted a season-high team hitting percentage of .429 against the Zips. A native of Crystal Lake, Ill., Slimko also earned 13 additional kills against Buffalo, to help the Falcons seal its first MAC Regular Season title since 1992. In her career, Slimko now tallies 996 career kills, and will look to eclipse the 1,000 kill mark in the MAC Tournament.