Mid-American Conference

MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Corinne Jemison, Miami, Middle Hitter
Freshman – Kentwood, Michigan/East Kentwood
Jemison was a force in the middle in leading Miami to a 2-0 Mid-American Conference start on the road this past weekend. She finished with 17 kills, an average of 2.83 kills per set. She made only three attack errors in 27 attempts for an impressive hitting percentage of .519. That included a .562 attack percentage in the win over Buffalo Saturday. Jemison also scored for the block, assisting on four blocks over the weekend. She was responsible for 19.0 points in the six sets, an average of 3.17 points per set.
 
MAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Meg Wolowicz, NIU, Middle Blocker
Senior – Manitowoc, Wisconsin/Manitowoc Lincoln
Wolowicz led NIU to two victories this weekend against Toledo and Ball State… The senior averaged 4.71 kills per set and hit .300 for the weekend… She led all players with 16 kills in NIU’s sweep of Toledo, hitting .344 in the match… It was the fifth time this season Wolowicz hit over .300 in a match… Eight of her 16 kills Friday came in the third set… Wolowicz followed that up with 17 kills in a four-set win over Ball State Saturday night… Over her last seven matches, Wolowicz is hitting .266 and averaging 4.89 kills per set.
 
MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Margaret Payne, Miami, Middle Hitter
Junior – Bloomfield Hills, Michigan/Cranbrook Kingswood
The Miami volleyball team held its two opponents to a .090 attack percentage in two straight-set road wins to open MAC play last weekend. A big part of that was the play of junior middle hitter Margaret Payne up front. She finished with 16 blocks in six sets, an incredible 2.67 blocks per set average for the week. After recording five blocks in the win over Akron on Friday, Payne followed that up with a career-high 11 blocks (one solo and 10 assisted) on Saturday. She contributed offensively in the win over Buffalo as well with 13 kills and a .429 attack percentage. For the week, Payne scored 24.5 points (including 19.5 in just three sets versus the Bulls), an average of 4.08 points per set.
 
MAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Alyssa LaFace, Eastern Michigan, Libero
Senior – Allen Park, Michigan/Allen Park
Senior Alyssa LaFace churned out an amazing two-game stretch in Eastern’s 2-0 opening to Mid-American Conference play. In the Eagles’ four-set victory at Central Michigan, the libero had 35 digs, and followed that performance with a 22 dig match in EMU’s sweep of Kent State. Her 35 digs is good for fourth in the modern-era record book for digs in a four-set match. She finished the week with an eye-popping 8.14 digs per set mark, had 57 total digs, and did not commit a reception error in 27 attempts.
 
MAC East Setter of the Week
Vera Giacomazzi, Ohio, Setter
Sophomore – San Vendemiano, Italy/Liceo Scientifico G. Marconi
Giacomazzi led Ohio (7-8, 2-0 MAC) with 84 assists (12.00 per set) to help the Bobcats open 2018 Mid-American Conference play with a pair of wins. She put together an impressive performance in a four-set victory over MAC East Division rival Kent State on Thursday (Sept. 20) at the Convocation Center, leading the match with 40 assists while adding eight digs and four total blocks (one solo, three assisted). Giacomazzi then led the match with 44 assists on Saturday (Sept. 22) in a road sweep of West Division foe Central Michigan. This weekend marked the first time this season Giacomazzi has totaled at least 20 assists in back-to-back matches.
 
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)
Redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor executed the 6-2 to perfection to open Mid-American Conference play, averaging 13.14 assists per set in the Eagles two victories. The pair divvied out an outstanding 57 assists in a four-set win on the road at Central Michigan to kick off the weekend, and then put up 35 in a sweep of Kent State. The duo upped their combined season average to 11.82 assists per set, and also provide fantastic defense with a 4.89 digs per set average.
 

 
Other Nominees
Kate Avila, Ball State, Libero
Junior - Yorktown, Indiana/Yorktown
Junior libero Kate Avila notched double-digit digs in both of the Cardinals matches last weekend, helping guide the team to a 1-1 record to open league play. Avila collected 18 digs and a perfect reception percentage in the win at Western Michigan, while collecting a team-high 23 digs and a .923 (36-for-39) reception percentage at Northern Illinois. 
 
Grace Balensiefer, NIU, Setter
Freshman – Lafayette, Indiana/McCutcheon
Balensiefer averaged 10.43 assists per set in NIU’s wins over Toledo and Ball State… She opened the weekend with 33 assists and six digs in the Huskies’ sweep of Toledo… ON Saturday night, Balensiefer had 40 assists and a career-high five kills as NIU defeated Ball State in four sets… Her fifth kill came on match point in the fourth set… Over the last four matches, Balensiefer has averaged 10.13 assists per set with two matches of at least 40 assists.
 
Zoe Birnbrich, Toledo, Middle Hitter
Junior – Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman
Excellent performance in the win at Western Michigan, tallying 20 kills while hitting .366…Also added two service aces in the win over the Broncos…Started the Rockets off on the right foot against WMU, registering six kills on 10 attempts in the first set…Hit .308 and recorded five kills against NIU to go along with seven block assists…Has been the Rockets’ most efficient offensive weapon, hitting .362 on the season and averaging 3.10 kills per set…Is hitting .412 with 3.48 kills/set in UT victories this season.
 
Rachel Bontrager, Western Michigan, Outside Hitter
Sophomore – Valparaiso, Indiana/Valparaiso
Bontrager in two matches against Ball State and Toledo averaged 0.89 blocks per set and recorded at least two solo blocks in each match. Bontrager also earned double digit digs in each match en route to back-to-back double-doubles. Against Toledo on Saturday, Bontrager had a team-high four blocks including a crucial solo block in the fifth set to keep the Broncos alive. Over the weekend she led WMU with eight blocks and for the season ranks second on the team.   
 
Madeline Brandewie, Bowling Green, Middle
Senior – Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley
Madeline Brandewie has been a standout player for the Falcons throughout the season, but it was her performance against the Zips in which she showed grit and team leadership to rally the team to come from behind and defeat Akron in five sets. Brandewie swung at a blistering .444 against the Zips, tallying 20 kills from 36 attempts. Throughout the weekend, Brandewie totaled 27 kills, three digs, a three total blocks.
 
Erin Gardner, Kent State, Libero
Freshman – Avon, Ohio/Avon
Erin Gardner led Kent State’s defense during the opening week of conference play by averaging 6.57 digs per set. In the first MAC action of her career, Gardner tallied a match-high 28 digs at preseason favorite Ohio on Thursday. The libero added 18 digs Saturday at Eastern Michigan.
 
Cassie Haut, Eastern Michigan, Middle Blocker
R-Junior – Monroe, Michigan/St. Mary Catholic Central
Redshirt junior Cassie Haut turned in another impressive weekend, finishing with 22 total kills while hitting.378 in the Eagles’ 3-1 win at Central Michigan and in their sweep of Kent State. The middle blocker also added 13 total blocks (2 solo, 11 assist) to bring her total points for the weekend to a team-high 29.5 and 4.21 points per set. The Monroe, Mich. native upped her season hitting percentage to .347, good for fifth in the MAC, while her 1.25 blocks per set is third in the league.
 
Sara Januszewski, Ohio, Middle Blocker
Junior – Oak Creek, Wisconsin/Oak Creek
Januszewski led Ohio (7-8, 2-0 MAC) with an impressive .485 hitting percentage and tied for third on the team with 20 kills (2.86 per set) to help the Bobcats open 2018 Mid-American Conference play with a pair of wins. Januszewski hit a staggering .733 with a season-high 11 kills and no errors in 33 total attempts in a four-set victory over MAC East Division rival Kent State on Thursday (Sept. 20) at the Convocation Center. She then hit .278 with nine kills on Saturday (Sept. 22) in a road sweep of West Division foe Central Michigan.
 
Miranda Karlen, NIU, Libero
Sophomore – Evansville, Wisconsin/Evansville
Karlen averaged 6.57 digs per set this weekend as NIU opened MAC play with wins over Toledo and Ball State… The NIU defense held Toledo and Ball State to a combined .169 hitting percentage over the weekend… On Friday night, the sophomore libero had 24 digs as the Huskies swept Toledo… She also had five assists and an ace… Her 24 digs are the most for a Huskie in three sets this season… She then had 22 digs, six assists, and three aces Saturday night as NIU defeated Ball State in four sets… Karlen has had at least 20 digs in five of her last seven matches.
 
Maurissa Leonard, Toledo, Libero
Senior – Oregon, Ohio/St. Ursula
26 Digs and was a perfect 18-for-18 in reception attempts in the five-set win over WMU,  the first MAC win of the season for UT…The night before had 11 digs and two service aces at NIU…Once again entered the weekend leading the nation in digs/set...has been excellent in Rocket victories this season, averaging 5.68 digs per set and a team-best 0.32 service aces/set.
 
Isabelle Marciniak, Bowling Green, Setter
Junior – Lambertville, Michigan/Bedford Senior
Isabelle Marciniak totaled put on impressive performances against Buffalo and Akron in which she totaled 73 assists between both matches, bringing her to a high weekly average of 9.125 assists per set. Marciniak’s was sharp on offense and defense this week, with 10 kills and four service aces, along with 14 total digs. Isabelle Marciniak averaged 10.5 assists and 2.80 digs per set to lead the Falcons to a 3-0 record and a tournament championship at the BGSU Invitational. Marciniak, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had 60 assists in the closest match of the weekend, a four-set victory over Marshall. She added 16 digs and two blocks in that victory. In total, she had eight kills and six blocks on the weekend as well.
 
Simone Miller, Ohio, Middle Blocker
R-Junior – Kalamazoo, Michigan/Kalamazoo Central
Miller led Ohio (7-8, 2-0 MAC) with 14 total blocks (two solo, 12 assisted; 2.00 per set) to help the Bobcats open 2018 Mid-American Conference play with a pair of wins. She matched her career high with 10 total blocks (two solo, eight assisted) in a four-set victory over East Division rival Kent State last Thursday (Sept. 20) at the Convocation Center. On Saturday (Sept. 22) in a road sweep of West Division foe Central Michigan, she tallied four assisted blocks and hit .625 with five kills.
 
Mary Murphy, Western Michigan, Setter
Senior – Wilmington, Illinois/Joliet Catholic Academy
Murphy over the weekend collected 67 assists to go along with one service ace and eight digs against Ball State and Toledo. Murphy led WMU with 8.38 assists per set while also recording a staggering .444 attack percentage. Against Toledo, the senior setter neared her third double-double of the season with 46 assists and seven digs. It’s the fifth time this season that Murphy has had at least 40 or more assists in a match.  
 
Meredith Phillips, Western Michigan, Outside Hitter
Freshman – Fishers, Indiana/Hamilton Southeastern
In two matches against Ball State and Toledo at home, Phillips ranked second on the team with 2.44 kills per set while leading the Broncos with a .208 attack percentage. Against Ball State, Phillips earned 10 kills, marking the fifth time this season she has done so. She followed up that performance with another double digit kill day with 12 against Toledo.
 
Amber Seaman, Ball State, Setter
Junior – Carmel, Indiana/Brebeuf
Junior setter Amber Seaman helped lead the Cardinals to a 1-1 start to MAC play by averaging 10.75 assists per set and guiding the Cardinals to a .182 attack percentage for the week. She dished out 43 assists in both four-set contests versus Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. She also hit a career-best .857 (6-0-7) in Ball State’s win at WMU, the program’s fifth straight regular season victory over the Broncos.
 
Morgan Seaman, Miami, Setter
Sophomore – Carmel, Indiana/Carmel
Seaman helped lead Miami to a 2-0 start in Mid-American Conference play. In the 6-2 system, she averaged an impressive 6.83 assists per set. She had 17 assists in a win over Akron on Friday, and followed that up with 24 assists in the 3-0 victory over Buffalo on Saturday. Seaman helped lead a defense that held its opponents to a .090 attack percentage for the weekend. She recorded 11 digs, an average of 1.83 digs per set.
 
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Libero
Senior – Oregon, Ohio/Clay
Kallie Seimet continues to be an important element in all team wins for the Falcons. Seimet constantly puts up high numbers in dig totals and has done it again this past weekend against Buffalo and Akron, in which she accumulated 52 digs throughout both matches. The libero averaged six and half digs per set, with only two receiving errors. 
 
Carly Townsend, Toledo, Setter
Senior – Germantown, Wisconsin/Germantown
Averaged 8.75 assists per set last weekend and a team-best 0.62 aces/set…In the five-set win at Western Michigan she had 54 assists to go along with four aces en route to Toledo’s first MAC win of 2018…Averaging 9.37 assists per set this season…Had two clutch service aces in the decisive fifth set against WMU.
 
Sydnee VanBeek, Ball State, Middle
Junior – St. John, Illinois/Illiana Christian
Junior middle Sydnee VanBeek led the Ball State offense with 28 kills and a 3.50 kills-per-set average last week, helping the Cardinals open league play with a 1-1 record. She also led Ball State at the net with 12 total blocks on the weekend for a 1.50 blocks-per-set average. In the win at Western Michigan, VanBeek tied for match-high honors with 17 kills, led Ball State with five total blocks (one solo and four assists) and connected for a .350 (17-3-40) attack percentage. Saturday at NIU, VanBeek registered 11 kills and led all players at the net with seven total blocks (one solo and six assists). She also led the Ball State defense with 10 total blocks on the weekend.
 
Emily Wenglikowski, Central Michigan, Defensive Specialist/Outside Hitter
Senior – Leo, Indiana/Leo Junior-Senior
Senior Emily Wenglikowski highlighted the Chippewa defense in the first weekend of MAC play. Wenglikowski totaled 29 digs in the two matches, including a team-high 20 in a four-set loss to Eastern Michigan in the conference opener, with no receiving errors on 56 total receptions. She also added nine digs and two aces against Ohio on Saturday. Wenglikowski ranks third on the team with 140 digs and is second in aces with nine.   
 
Maddie Whitfield, Central Michigan, Middle Blocker
Freshman – Saline, Michigan/Saline
Freshman Maddie Whitfield starred for Central Michigan this weekend as it opened MAC play, leading the Chippewas offensively. Overall, Whitfield hit a stellar .350, earning 19 kills on her 40 total attacks. Against Ohio on Saturday, Whitfield hit .538, recording nine kills on 13 attempts. Versus Eastern Michigan on Thursday, she tied a season best with 10 kills on a season-high 27 attacks. Whitfield also equaled a season high with four block assists against the Eagles.