Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Celena Kanagin, Bowling Green, Middle Blocker
Junior – Spring Grove, Illinois/Richmond Butron
Celena Kanagin posted a total of 23 kills throughout six sets in road matches Miami and NIU. The middle blocker recorded 3.83 kills per set over the weekend, along with a high average of .339 in hitting efficiency. Kanagin played a defensive role as well, having been involved in five blocks.
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Savannah Thompson, Central Michigan, Outside Hitter
Freshman – Thornton, Illinois/Marist
The freshman outside hitter put together her most consistent offensive weekend of the season in a pair of straight-set victories over Ball State and Toledo at home. In Friday’s 3-0 win over the MAC West leading Cardinals, Thompson racked up 12 kills and a season-best .435 hitting percentage leading the team in both categories. On Saturday’s sweep of Toledo, Thompson once again paced the Chippewas offence with 12 kills. Thompson also led the team in offensive efficiency posting a .333 hitting percentage for her first back-to-back +.300 attack percentage games of her career. On defense, Thompson finished the weekend with 27 digs to lead the team.
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Libero
Senior – Oregon, Ohio/Clay
Kallie Seimet played a critical role in ensuring back-to-back sweeps for the Falcons in difficult matches versus Miami and NIU. Seimet played perfect matches from her end, having no receive errors over six sets. Seimet totaled 60 digs throughout both matches, averaging an impressive 10 digs per set, and bumping her season average in the same category to 6.67.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Maddie Whitfield, Central Michigan, Middle Blocker
Freshman – Saline, Michigan/Saline
Whitfield anchored the Chippewas front line in a pair of straight set victories over Ball State and Toledo over the weekend. On Friday’s 3-0 win over the MAC West leading Cardinals, Whitfield notched a team-best six blocks while contributing five kills offensively. On Saturday’s sweep of the Rockets, Whitfield managed a pair of blocks adding to her weekend total (8). Additionally, Whitfield finished with four digs and three service aces on the weekend. 
 
MAC East Setter of the Week
Tia Gleason, Buffalo, Setter
Sophomore – North Bay, Ontario/Assumption Catholic
Sophomore setter Tia Gleason led the Bulls to a pair of victories this past weekend as she averaged 12.5 assists per set in 3-0 wins over Kent State and Ohio. On Friday night, Gleason had 34 assists to go along with five kills and eight digs in the victory over the Golden Flashes.  She had 41 assists in a three-set win over Ohio on Saturday as she directed the Bulls to a .343 hitting mark as a team.  Gleason also had a kill and two blocks in the win over the Bobcats.
 
MAC West Setter of the Week
Mallory Rajewski, Eastern Michigan, Setter (R-Senior – Midland, Michigan/Midland)
Riley Taylor, Eastern Michigan, Setter (Junior – Indianapolis, Indiana/Perry Meridian)
The setting duo of senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor once again orchestrated a nearly flawless attack for Eastern Michigan in a 2-0 weekend, helping the Eagles hit .322 in wins over Toledo (.310) and Ball State (.331). The pair dished out 31 assists in EMU’s second sweep of Toledo this season, and saved their best for the final home game of 2018, distributing 58 assists and tacking on 15 digs in Eastern’s first victory over Ball State since 2015. The duo averaged 11.13 assists per set on the weekend. 

 
Other Nominees 
Grace Balensiefer, NIU, Setter
Freshman – Lafayette, Indiana/McCutcheon
Balensiefer averaged 8.38 assists per set as the Huskies split matches against Western Michigan and Bowling Green this weekend. The freshman setter had her 10thdouble-double of the season on Oct. 31 in NIU’s 3-2 win at Western Michigan with 46 assists and 11 digs. The Huskies rallied from two sets down to beat the Broncos and sweep the season series.  On Saturday night, Balensiefer had 21 assists against Bowling Green and tied a career-high with two aces.
 
Grace Butler, Central Michigan, Setter (Sophomore – Hawthorne Woods, Illinois/Carmel Catholic)
Kendall Braate, Central Michigan, Setter (Freshman – Byron Center, Michigan/Byron Center)
The Butler/Braate setting duo was instrumental in CMU’s 2-0 weekend propelling the Chippewa attack to a pair of sweeps over Ball State and Toledo. On Friday, Butler and Braate combined for 34 assists as CMU downed the MAC West leading Cardinals. In Saturday’s match the pair tallied 36 to help the Chippewas complete the sweep of the rockets. Butler and Braate finished the weekend with a 11.66 Assist/Set clip setting the CMU attack to a .222 mark (.242/.202) for the weekend while chipping in a combined 17 digs on defense.
 
Erin Gardner, Kent State, Libero
Freshman – Avon, Ohio/Avon
Erin Gardner averaged 4.88 digs per set to help Kent State to lead Kent State’s defense last week. Gardner tallied a match-high 23 digs to help the Golden Flashes defeat rival Akron on Saturday and clinch a spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament. She added a match-high 16 digs Friday at Buffalo. Gardner now has 505 digs and is just the second Kent State player ever to reach the 500-dig mark as a freshman
 
Vera Giacomazzi, Ohio, Setter
Sophomore – Sn Vendemiano, Italy/Lieco Scientifico G. Marconi
Giacomazzi led Ohio (12-15, 7-7 MAC) with 71 assists (10.14 per set), tied for the team lead with three service aces (0.43 per set) and tallied 12 digs (1.71 per set) as the Bobcats split a pair of road matches against MAC East Division rivals. Giacomazzi recorded at least 40 assists for the 10thtime this season and ninth time in 13 matches as she led the match with 45 assists in a 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-11, 26-24) victory at Akron last Friday (Nov. 2) at James A. Rhodes Arena. She also chipped in three kills with a .429 hitting percentage and added three service aces, a solo block and eight digs.
 
Cassie Haut, Eastern Michigan, Middle Blocker
Junior – Monore, Michigan/St. Mary Catholic Central
Redshirt junior Cassie Haut helped Eastern to a 2-0 weekend with her stellar combination of blocking and offense against Toledo and Ball State. The middle blocker had 24 total kills while hitting .321, and also led the team in blocks per set with 1.12. The Monroe, Mich. native led a defense that held its opponents to a combined .181 attack percentage, and out-blocked the MAC’s top blocking squad in Ball State, 10 to 8.
 
Tia Jimerson, Ohio, Middle Blocker
Sophomore – Sugar Hill, Goergia/Norcross
Jimerson hit a team-best .387, ranked second on the team with 17 kills (2.43 per set) and led the team with five total blocks (one solo, four assisted; 0.71 per set) to help the Ohio volleyball team (12-15, 7-7 MAC) split a pair of road matches against MAC East Division rivals. Jimerson recorded 10 kills and hit .300 in a 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-11, 26-24) victory at Akron last Friday (Nov. 2) at James A. Rhodes Arena. The following night at Buffalo, she hit .545 with seven kills and compiled a team-high four total blocks (one solo, three assisted) in a three-set loss. 
 
Miranda Kern, Northern Illinois, Libero
Sophomore – Evansville, Wisconsin/Evansville
Karlen led NIU with 5.12 digs per set this week as the Huskies split matches against Western Michigan and Bowling Green. The sophomore had 18 digs, five assists, and three aces as NIU rallied from two sets down to defeat the Broncos in Kalamazoo 3-2 on Wednesday night. She then had 23 digs against Bowling Green on Saturday in a three-set loss to the Falcons. It was her fourth match of the season with at least 20 digs in three sets.
 
Sammi Labolle, Western Michigan, Middle Blocker
Freshman – Sandwich, Illinois/Sandwich
Labolle guided the Broncos to a split over the week, falling to Northern Illinois in five sets before defeating MAC East leader Miami in five on Saturday. Labolle was tied for second on the team over the week 20 kills, averaging 2.00 per set while having a team-high .333 attack percentage. Against NIU, Labolle posted eight kills with a .211 attack percentage along with one assist, two digs and four blocks. On Saturday against Miami, Labolle registered her sixth double digit kill performance of the season, leading WMU with 12 kills. Against the RedHawks the freshman also hit a staggering .435, the fifth time she had hit over .400 this season. The 12 kills were three shy of her career-high.
 
Isabelle Marciniak, Bowling Green, Setter
Junior – Lambertville, Michigan/Bedford Senior
Isabelle Marciniak ran the Faclons’ offense for sweep victories over the Miami and NIU. Throughout two matches and six sets, the junior put up 54 assists for her teammate, for an average of 9 assists per set. Marciniak was there for the team defensively as well, posting 29 digs throughout both matches. The setter also registered six of her own kills. 
 
Mary Murphy, Western Michigan, Setter
Senior – Wilmington, Illinois/Joliet Catholic Academy
It was stellar overall weekend for Mary Murphy has she posted nearly 100 assists and helped the Broncos split the week with a five-set loss to NIU followed by a five-set victory over Miami. Murphy had 53 and 44 assists in the two matches with the 53 assists against NIU being nine shy of her career-high. Against the Huskies, the senior setter went over 50 assists for the third time this season. With the 97 assists, Murphy also went over the 1,000-assist mark for the third straight season. She didn’t just rack up the assists over the week as Murphy registered six kills, had 11 digs and earned nine blocks. The five blocks against NIU on Wednesday, tied a career-high.  
 
Kristina Nieves, Buffalo, Middle Blocker
Junior -Ringwood, New Jersey/Passaic County Technical
Junior Kristina Nieves led the Bulls defensively in their sweep of Kent State and Ohio this past weekend as she averaged 1.33 blocks per set.  In UB’s first ever 3-0 sweep of the Ohio Bobcats, Nieves finished with six blocks, including one solo.  She also shined on the offensive end with eight kills and just one error, hitting .538 for the match.  On Friday night, Nieves added two more blocks and three digs, while finishing with five kills, hitting .300.
 
Jori Radtke, NIU, Outside Hitter
Sophomore – Buffalo Grove, Illinois/Stevenson
Radtke led NIU in kills in both of its matches this weekend against Western Michigan and Bowling Green. The sophomore had a match-high 17 kills, adding a career-high five blocks as NIU rallied from two sets down to win at Western Michigan 3-2 on Oct. 31. On Saturday, Radtke had 15 kills and nine digs against the Falcons.   
 
Kathleen Reilly, Western Michigan, Libero/Defensive Specialist
Junior – Overland Park, Kansas/St. James Academy
Over the week against Miami and NIU, Reilly recorded a team-high 51 digs, averaging 5.10 per set and leading the Broncos to a split. In a five-set thrilling victory on Saturday, Reilly had 30 digs which was six shy of her career-high to help WMU defeat the RedHawks. With 1,690 career digs, Reilly now ranks third in program history. Over the season, Reilly has eclipsed double digit digs in 25 contests and over 30 digs in three contests. The junior defensive specialist leads WMU with 493 digs, averaging 4.56 per set. 
 
Rachel Sanks, Buffalo, Outside Hitter
Junior – Alexandria, Virginia/Thomas A. Edison
Junior Rachel Sanks led the Bulls to a pair of victories this past weekend, putting forth the best night of her career in the three-set win over Ohio, UB’s first ever sweep of the Bobcats.  Sanks had 16 kills and just two errors on the night as she hit .519 for the evening.  Sanks did not commit a hitting error until the third set as she had 14 kills and no errors following the first two sets.  She also added three digs and three blocks in the win.  On Friday night, Sanks was also instrumental in the 3-0 win over Kent State as she chipped in seven kills and two digs.  For the weekend, she hit .341.
 
Jordan Smith, Eastern Michigan, Outside Hitter
Senior – Solon, Iowa/Solon
Senior Jordan Smith highlighted a strong final home weekend with an 18-kill, .385 attack percentage night against MAC West-leading Ball State. In the Eagle’s two victories, Smith finished with 25 total kills, a .317 attack average, 3.13 kills per set, and seven digs. The win over BSU was the first for EMU since the 2015 season, and helped Eastern clinched a spot in the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament.
 
Danie Tyson, Kent State, Middle Blocker
Freshman – South Holland, Illinois/Chicago Christian
Danie Tyson provided a steady presence in the middle to Kent State clinch a spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament entering the final weekend of the regular season. Tyson led the offense with 2.00 kills per set and a .312 hitting percentage for the week. She led the Golden Flashes with seven kills Friday at Buffalo. Tyson added nine kills and four total blocks in Saturday’s rivalry victory over Akron.